An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/greifen

by Friedrich Kluge

greifen, verb, ‘to grasp, seize,’ from the equivalent Middle High German grîfen, Old High German grîfan, strong verb; corresponding to Old Saxon grîpan, Dutch grijpen, Anglo-Saxon grîpan, English to gripe, Gothic greipan, ‘to seize, lay hold of’; a common Teutonic verb, whence French gripper, ‘to clutch,’ and griffe, ‘claw.’ In the non-Teutonic languages there exists an allied Aryan root ghrī̆b, in Lithuanian greibiu, greibti, ‘to seize,’ and Lettic griba, ‘will,’ gribêt, ‘to wish.’