grapple
/ˈɡɹæpəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.12 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "to grapple with one's conscience"
- "Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42098 grapples with the 1 in 63 to Troutbeck at the head of the "Lakes Express"."
- "Fear of death is a universal human concern with which all thinking people at some point grapple."
- "The frictionless appearance of a box on the doorstep is such a seductive notion. We have come to rely on it in such a brief period that we have not been able to grapple fully with the scale or the meaning of home delivery."
- "The gallies were grapled to the Centurion."
- "Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel."
Etymology
From Middle English *grapplen (“to seize, lay hold of”), from Old English *græpplian (“to seize”) (compare Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”)), from Proto-Germanic *graipilōną, *grabbalōną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), equivalent to grab + -le. Cognate with Dutch grabbelen (“to grope, scramble, scrabble”), German grabbeln (“to rummage, grope about”) and grapsen, grapschen (“to seize, grasp, grabble”). Influenced in some senses by grapple (“tool with claws or hooks”, noun) (see below). See further at grasp.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɹæpəl/
- British English: /ˈɡɹæpəl/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.