Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “*gripper” come from?

*gripper (Old French) comes from Frankish grīpan, from Proto-Germanic grīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰreyb-, from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- — to rub; to stroke; to grind.

Ancestry of “*gripper”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frankishgrīpanto seize; to grab, to grasp
2Proto-Germanicgrīpanąto grab, grasp
3Proto-Indo-Europeangʰreyb-to grab, grasp; to grasp, grab; to grab, to grasp
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʰer-to rub; to stroke; to grind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- →