grab English · revision 4714

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1589|origins=gml grabben}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡræb/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[bor|dum|grabben|t=to grab]] or [[m|gml|grabben]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Germanic *grab-, *grap-,^(Etymonline) cognate with Old English grǣppian “to seize”, Low German grapsen and German grapschen “to snatch”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*gʰrebʰ-|alt=*ghrebh-|t=to seize, reach]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also seen in Sanskrit gṛbhṇāti “seizes”, Old Church Slavonic grabiti “to rob” and Lithuanian grėbti “to rake”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[grasp]] and [[grip]], and the frequentative form gave [[grabble]].^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To seize suddenly or snatch: 1589 in the OED and Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1580s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To arrest or capture a person is from 1800.^(OED 1989) The sense “to get by unscrupulous means” was reinforced by ''grab game'', a kind of swindle, from 1846.^(Etymonline) The noun, the thing grabbed, is Scots from 1777, and a sudden grasp or attempt to seize from 1824, in De Quincey.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A mechanical device for gripping things is from 1865.^(OED 1989) To catch someone's attention, as in ''how does that grab you?'', is a later informal sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Grabby'', greedy, is from 1910,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''up for grabs'' from 1945, in jive talk.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1589 – to snatch.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1777 – noun, the thing grabbed.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1800 – to arrest.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1824 – noun, a sudden grasp.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1846 – ''grab game''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1865 – a gripping device.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1945 – ''up for grabs''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take hold of suddenly or roughly; to [[snatch]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take or get something quickly or unfairly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take quickly when there is a chance: ''grab a sandwich''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To capture someone's [[attention]] or interest.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sudden attempt to take hold of something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A mechanical device for gripping and lifting things.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grabber]]

+ * [[grabbable]]

+ * [[grabby]]

+ * [[landgrab]]

+ * [[regrab]]

+ * [[grabble]]

+ * [[grab bag]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grasp]]

+ * [[grip]]

+ * [[grope]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different word grab, a two-masted coasting vessel of the Malabar coast (1680), is from Arabic ghurāb “raven”.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}