Where does “grapple” come from?
Grapple comes from Middle English grapplen, from Old English græpplian, from Old French grappe, from Frankish krappō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European grep- and ger-, roots meaning to seize or grasp.
grapple (English): To seize something and hold it firmly; To wrestle...
Definitions
- To seize something and hold it firmly; To wrestle...
Ancestry of “grapple”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | grab | To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch; To make a... |
| 2 | English | -le | A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating... |
| 3 | Middle English | -el | — |
| 4 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 5 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 6 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
Words derived from “grapple”