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Grapple
Definitions
- 1 A close hand-to-hand struggle. countable, uncountable
- 2 A tool with claws or hooks which is used to catch or hold something.; A device consisting of iron claws, attached to the end of a rope, used for grasping and holding an enemy ship prior to boarding; a grappling iron.
- 3 A combination of grape and apple flavors. uncountable
"Lady Cheron looks at the cupboards. Both apple butter and apple jelly, as well as "grapple" (grape-apple) jelly are sitting in little mason jars on the top shelf."
- 4 the act of engaging in close hand-to-hand combat wordnet
- 5 The act of grappling. (uncountable) countable, uncountable
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- 6 A tool with claws or hooks which is used to catch or hold something.; A grapnel (“type of anchor”).
- 7 a dredging bucket with hinges like the shell of a clam wordnet
- 8 a tool consisting of several hooks for grasping and holding; often thrown with a rope wordnet
- 1 To seize something and hold it firmly. transitive
- 2 To fasten, as with a grapple; (by extension) to fix; to join indissolubly. transitive
"The gallies were grapled to the Centurion."
- 3 to grip or seize, as in a wrestling match wordnet
- 4 To wrestle or tussle. intransitive
- 5 To climb (whether by means of a grapple and rope, or by hand, etc). intransitive, transitive
"Sam quickly geared up and placed the first hook. “I am coming as well,” Alicia announced. […] Sam planted the anchor and then grappled down as Alicia struggled to move more than a foot or shift down."
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- 6 succeed in doing, achieving, or producing (something) with the limited or inadequate means available wordnet
- 7 To ponder and intensely evaluate a problem; to struggle to deal with. figuratively
"to grapple with one's conscience"
- 8 To use a grapple (for example to attempt to find, hook, and raise a net or cable). intransitive
"The following days I spent patrolling the river and grappling for nets. On Wednesday , 18th July , left Gananoque at 7 a.m.; patrolled down to Rockport, […]"
- 9 To hook and raise with a grapple. intransitive, transitive
"The place where the cable got jammed and broken at the bottom was two or three miles from where I grappled up the cable the first time. I do not, of course, know for certain whether rocks with crevices exist."
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.
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.
From Middle English *grapple, *graple, from Old French grappil (“a ship's grapple”) (compare Old French grappin (“hook”)), from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *grep- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). See further at grape. Influenced in some senses by grapple (“seize”, verb) (see above).
From Middle English *grapple, *graple, from Old French grappil (“a ship's grapple”) (compare Old French grappin (“hook”)), from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *grep- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). See further at grape. Influenced in some senses by grapple (“seize”, verb) (see above).
Blend of grape + apple.
See also for "grapple"
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