I. ˈgrīp verb
( griped ; griped ; griping ; gripes )
Etymology: Middle English gripen, from Old English grīpan; akin to Old High German grīfan to seize, grasp, Old Norse grīpa, Gothic greipan to seize, grasp, Lithuanian griebti to reach for, grasp
transitive verb
1.
a. archaic : to take, seize, or come forcibly into possession or control of
b. : to come to have and to hold tightly or penuriously
griping his ill-gotten gains
c. : to grasp, clutch, or hold onto tightly
griping his sword fast
d. obsolete : to enclose tightly
2. : afflict: as
a. : to distress, hurt, or grieve by or as if by grasping or seizing tightly
may the fiend gripe his entrails — O.W.Holmes †1935
b. : to oppress by want, penury, or callous grasping exaction
the poverty that gripes the very poor
in the clutches of a griping sweatshop operator
c. : irritate , anger , vex
a rookie griped by army regulations
griped by the new income-tax provisions
3. : to cause pinching and spasmodic pain in the bowels of
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to try to clutch : start to lay hold
2. : to experience griping pains
3. of a ship : to tend to come up into the wind abnormally especially so as to require the helm to be continually put up when sailing close-hauled
4. : to complain usually forcefully : object and criticize with sustained grumbling
griping about food in the mess hall
gripe at the new regulations
Synonyms: see complain
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from gripen, v.
1. : the act of griping, clutching, or taking fast hold : firm seizure or grasp ; broadly : control , mastery
a barren scepter in my gripe — Shakespeare
2.
a. : cruel exaction : oppression : pinching distress : affliction
b. : complaint , grumbling
3. : a pinching spasmodic intestinal pain — usually used in plural
4. : something adapted to be grasped : handle , grip
5.
a. : something that can be grasped in the hand : handful
b. obsolete : the hand as a gripping instrument
6. : a device (as a brake) for grasping or holding
7.
a. : a timber sometimes scarfed into the forefoot and stem of a wooden ship for additional strength ; broadly : forefoot 2
b. : the forward end of the dished keel of a steel ship to which the stem is attached
c. gripes plural : canvas bands and fastenings securing a lifeboat in its cradle
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin grypus, gryphus — more at griffin
1. obsolete : griffin 1a
2. archaic : vulture 1