𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (greipan), a strong verb of the first class.^[1][2][3] Its principal parts are 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (greipan), 𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌹𐍀 (-graip, recorded only in a compound) and 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐍀𐌿𐌽 (gripun).^[4] The recorded forms are the infinitive 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (greipan), the third person singular present 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌹𐌸 (greipiþ), the second person plural preterite 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐍀𐌿𐌸 (gripuþ) and the third person plural preterite 𐌲𐍂𐌹𐍀𐌿𐌽 (gripun), once each.^[3][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *grīpaną (“to grab, grasp”),^[6][3] the source also of Old Norse grípa, Old English grīpan, Old Frisian grīpa, Old Saxon grīpan and Old High German grīfan.^[7][8][9] Feist, Köbler and Wiktionary trace it to the root Proto-Indo-European *gʰreib- (“to grab”), found also in Lithuanian griẽbti (“to seize”).^{[7][3][10][9]} Kroonen argues that the root-final p must go back to a geminate, and that the strong verb was probably formed from an older iterative verb *gripp/bōn- (“to grasp”).^[11] Within Germanic, Feist and Lehmann name the ablaut forms greipa in Old Norse, Old English grāpian and Old High German greifōn, and the nouns grip and grif (“grip”).^[7][12]

Attestation

The verb occurs four times, all in Mark 14 (verses 44, 48, 49 and 51) in manuscript CA, which is also the count of Köbler and of PROIEL.^[5][3][13] It renders Ancient Greek κρατέω (kratéō) three times and συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō) once.^[13] It usually takes an accusative object; at Mark 14:51, gripun is þai juggalaudeis, it takes a genitive where the Greek has an accusative.^[14][15] Mark 14:44 reads þammei kukjau, sa ist; greipiþ þana, "whomever I kiss, he is the one; seize him".^[16]

Meanings

1. To grip or take hold of.^[6][17]
2. To seize, take prisoner (for κρατέω and συλλαμβάνω).^[6][18][3]

Word family

• 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (fairgreipan, “to seize”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽 (undgreipan, “to seize, lay hold of”)

References

1. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. greipan
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 279
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. greipan
4. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 655
5. ^ a b De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be
6. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽
7. ^ a b c Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. greipan
8. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 190
9. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *ʒrīpanan
10. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *grīpaną
11. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 190–191
12. ^ Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. greipan
13. ^ a b Haug, Dag T. T. et al., PROIEL Treebank: The Gothic Bible (gothic-nt), 2023 release, Pragmatic Resources in Old Indo-European Languages, University of Oslo
14. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 132
15. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 289
16. ^ De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be, p. Mk 14:44
17. ^ Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 140
18. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1868), A Moeso-Gothic Glossary, with an Introduction, an Outline of Moeso-Gothic Grammar, and a List of Anglo-Saxon and Old and Modern English Words Etymologically Connected with Moeso-Gothic, London: Asher, p. 113