Etymology Explorer › Old High German

Where does “grīfan” come from?

grīfan (Old High German) comes from Proto-West Germanic grīpan, from Proto-Germanic grīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰreyb-, from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- — to rub; to stroke; to grind.

Ancestry of “grīfan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicgrīpanto 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

Words derived from “grīfan”

  • eingreifen
  • angreifend
  • angreifen
  • zugreifen
  • greifen
  • durchgreifen
  • übergreifen
  • zurückgreifen
  • Stehgreif
  • greifbar
  • unangreifbar
  • angreifbar
  • aufgreifen
  • handgreiflich
  • Angreiferin
  • Angreifer
  • Greifvogel
  • greif
  • ergreifen
  • grifen
  • grīfen
  • ergräifen
  • gräifen
  • agräifen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰer- →