greifen German · revision 35598

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 800, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *gʰreyb-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɡʁaɪ̯fən/, [ˈɡʁaɪ̯fən], [ˈɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''greifen''' (class 1 strong, third-person singular present greift, past tense griff, past participle gegriffen, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|grîfen]], [[inh|goh|grīfan]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*grīpan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*grīpaną|t=to grab, grasp]], a strong verb.^(Wiktionary)^(Kluge 2011|373) The same verb is [[got|𐌲𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍀𐌰𐌽|tr=greipan]], [[non|grípa]], [[ang|grīpan]], [[ofs|grīpa]] and [[osx|grīpan]], continued in [[nl|grijpen]], [[en|gripe]] and [[sv|gripa]].^(Kluge 2011|373)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Outside Germanic it can be compared only with Baltic, [[lt|griẽbti|t=to seize, snatch]] and [[lv|gribēt|t=to want]], which point to [[ine-pro|*gʰreyb-]].^(Kluge 2011|373)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Kluge sets beside it a root with a different vowel, [[m|ine-pro|*gʰrebʰ-]], in [[sa|गृभ्णाति|tr=gṛbhṇā́ti|t=seizes]], [[cu|грабити|tr=grabiti|t=to snatch]] and [[m|lt|grė́bti|t=to rake]], but calls the connection unclear, and Pfeifer leaves further relations open.^(Kluge 2011|373)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ Beside the strong verb, Old High German had a weak iterative [[m|goh|greifōn|t=to touch, feel]], like [[ang|grāpian]].^(Pfeifer 1993) The Grimms' dictionary holds that the strong verb meant “to seize” and the weak one “to grope, feel”, a difference Old English still kept; in German the meanings mixed already in Old High German, and the forms fell together in New High German.^(DWB|9, 14)^(Pfeifer 1993) The French verb [[m|fr|gripper|t=to grab]] and the noun [[m|fr|grippe]] (see [[Grippe]]) were borrowed from Germanic.^(DWB|9, 14)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''grīfan'' is recorded from about 800;^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) Köbler gives its senses as to grip, to grope, to perceive by touch, to touch and to stroke.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) The weak ''greifōn'' of the same time was used for Latin ''palpare'', to feel one's way, as in Otfrid, where the blind man went ''weges greifōnti'', groping along the road.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|9, 14)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle High German ''grīfen'' covered feeling and touching as well as seizing and taking possession.^(Köbler MHD)^(Lexer 1872) The compounds took their own paths: [[angreifen]], at first “to touch”, has meant “to attack” since the 16th century, and [[begreifen]] turned from “to touch” to “to understand” after the Middle High German period.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)

+

+ Paul lists the many prepositional uses: ''zu etwas greifen'' “to resort to something” (''zu den Waffen greifen''), ''nach etwas greifen'' “to reach for something”, and ''um sich greifen'', which usually means “to spread”, of a disease or an evil.^(Paul 2002) ''Jemandem unter die Arme greifen'' is to help someone, and Goethe's ''Greift nur hinein ins volle Menschenleben!'' (''Faust'' I, 167) is often quoted.^(Paul 2002) Since Goethe ''greifen'' has also meant “to take hold, take effect”, of arguments and measures.^(Paul 2002) [[Greifer]] dates from the 17th century, and [[greifbar]] from the 18th.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 800 – Old High German ''grīfan'' and ''greifōn'' are recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 9th century – Otfrid uses ''greifōn'' “to grope”.^(DWB|9, 14)

+ * 16th century – ''angreifen'' takes on the sense “to attack”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 17th century – First record of ''Greifer''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – First record of ''greifbar''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|grab]], [[m|en|grasp]], take hold of: ''Er griff seine Jacke und lief hinaus.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|catch]], to seize, to capture: ''Die Polizei griff den Einbrecher noch in der Nacht.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(elevated, zu)'' To take up for a purpose, to resort to: ''zum Telefon greifen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(intransitive, nach, an, in)'' To reach for, to reach into: ''Sie griff nach dem Glas.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(music)'' To play (a chord, a note) with the fingers: ''einen Akkord greifen''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive, especially technology)'' To grip, to engage, to have enough [[m|en|traction]]; figuratively, to take effect: ''Die neuen Regeln greifen noch nicht.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(only in compound tenses)'' To estimate: ''Die Zahl ist zu hoch gegriffen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[abgreifen]]

+ * [[angreifen]]

+ * [[ausgreifen]]

+ * [[begreifen]]

+ * [[ergreifen]]

+ * [[greifbar]]

+ * [[Griff]]

+ * [[übergreifen]]

+ * [[vergreifen]]

+ * [[Greifer]]

+ * [[aufgreifen]]

+ * [[durchgreifen]]

+ * [[eingreifen]]

+ * [[Greifvogel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Grips]]

+ * [[Grippe]]

+ * [[en|gripe]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Zum Greifen nah'' means “within reach”, of a place or a goal.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}