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grasp

Etymology and origin of the English word grasp

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1350
Ultimate origin
Old English (*grǣpsan)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɡrɑːsp/, US /ɡræsp/[1]

Etymology

Middle English graspen is of uncertain origin,[2][3] possibly by metathesis from grapsen, from Old English *grǣpsan (“to touch, feel”),[2][3][4] parallel to the base of grope and related to grab;[4][2][5] compare East Frisian and Low German grapsen, to grab, snatch.[2][3] Hoad also allows a Low German origin.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reach for, grope, feel around: about 1350, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To seize and hold fast is first recorded before 1586, in Sidney's Arcadia,[2] the 16th century in Hoad,[4] and figurative senses follow in the 17th century.[4] The noun, a handle, is from 1561, the 1560s in Etymonline;[6][3] the act of grasping, a firm grip, from about 1600,[3] 1606 in the OED.[6] Firm control or possession is from 1605,[6] and intellectual hold, a mastery of a subject, from 1683, the 1680s in Etymonline.[6][3] Grasping, greedy, is from before 1382 as a participle adjective.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – to reach for, grope.[2]
  • 1561 – a handle (noun).[6]
  • before 1586 – to seize and hold.[2]
  • 1606 – a grip.[6]
  • 1683 – understanding.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To seize and hold firmly with the hand.
  2. To understand, especially with effort.
  3. To reach eagerly for something, with at: to grasp at straws.

Noun

  1. A firm hold or grip.
  2. Reach or power to attain: within one's grasp.
  3. Understanding: a good grasp of grammar.

Word family

  • graspable
  • grasper
  • graspless
  • regrasp

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Grasp.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/grasp. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·