Etymology
1. 1589, from M.Du. or M.L.G.
grabben "to grab," from P.Gmc.
*grab (cf. O.H.G.
garba "sheaf," lit. "that which is gathered up together"), from PIE
*gherebh- "to seize" (cf. Skt.
grbhnati "seizes," O.Pers.
grab- "seize" as possession or prisoner, O.C.S.
grabiti "to seize, rob," Lith.
grebiu "to rake"). First record of
grab-bag "miscellaneous mixture" is 1855, originally a carnival game.
2. From Middle Dutch grabben or Middle Low German grabben (“to grasp, grab, seize, snatch”), from Old Saxon gravan, from Proto-West Germanic *grabbōn, a secondary form of Proto-Germanic *grabōną (“to gather, rake”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to gather, rake, grab, seize”).
3. Related to archaic German grappen (“to grab”), Danish grabbe (“to grab”), Swedish grabba (“to grab”), Old Norse grápa (“to seize, appropriate”), Middle English grappen (“to feel, grope, grasp, clutch”), Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”).
4. Related also to Sanskrit गृह्णाति (gṛhṇā́ti), गृभ्णाति (gṛbhṇā́ti, “he seizes”), Avestan 𐬔𐬭𐬀𐬠 (grab, “to seize”)), Macedonian грабне (grabne, “to snatch”), Bulgarian грабя (grabja, “to rob, to grab”). See: Old Saxon '
gravan', German, old spelling '
grappen', Danish '
grabbe', Swedish '
grabba', Sanskrit '
गृह्णाति', Macedonian '
грабне', Bulgarian '
грабя'.
Verbs referencing "grab"
German, old spelling
grabbeln, Dutch
grabbelen, Proto-Slavic
greti, Proto-Slavic
grabiti, Italian
grabbare.