Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

griffe

/ɡɹɪf/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.02 in modern English

Syllables: griffe
IPA: /ɡɹɪf/

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A claw-like ornament at the base of a column.

noun

A person of mixed (black and white) race, especially the offspring of a mulatto (person of mixed black and white ancestry) and a person of fully black ancestry.

American usage; Dated

Example Sentences

"The primary use of this is to give the column a broader base and to diminish the amount of the cutting away of the solid stone. The griffe, however, is often used for elaborate ornamentation, being carved into vegetable or even animal form."
"Saint-Domingue's complex system of racial classification allowed for no fewer than eight “mixed” racial parental combinations that could produce a griffe, as infamously calculated by Moreau."

Etymology

Borrowed from French griffe (“claw”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: -, griffe, grifo

Usage

American usage
Dated

Inflected Forms

griffes (plural) grif (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

list in mulatto

Homonyms

griff grif

Rhymes With

if as if cliff stiff gif working stiff sniff riff whiff diff tiff biff

Questions

How do you pronounce griffe?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɡɹɪf/.
What does griffe mean?: A claw-like ornament at the base of a column.
Where does griffe come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce griffe

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “griffe”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɡɹɪf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “griffe”.
Repeat and practice — Say “griffe” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.