(transitive) To make a claim (to be something), to lay claim to (a given quality, feeling etc.), often with connotations of insincerity. [from 16th c.]
(transitive) To declare one's adherence to (a religion, deity, principle etc.). [from 16th c.]
(transitive) To work as a professor of; to teach. [from 16th c.]
(transitive, now rare) To claim to have knowledge or understanding of (a given area of interest, subject matter). [from 16th c.]
