Grapple

How to spell grapple

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce grapple

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does grapple mean?

1. verbTo seize and struggle physically with someone, or to try hard to deal with a difficult problem.
2. nounAn iron hook or grasping device used to grip or hold something fast.

Grapple in a sentence

• verb

  The two wrestlers began to grapple as the bell rang.

• noun

  The crew threw a grapple over the harbour wall to steady the boat.

• verb

  Managers still grapple with the cost of the new pension scheme.

• noun

  The recovery team lowered a grapple to retrieve the sunken crate.

Where does grapple come from?

Language of origin: French

Grapple comes from the Old French grapil or grapelle, a small hook used to catch hold of things, which was a diminutive of grape, meaning a hook or clamp. That French word in turn came from a Frankish, that is Germanic, root meaning to seize or grip, and it is a close relative of the modern word grapnel, the multi-pronged anchor thrown to snag a ship. The same family is connected to the fruit grape, which was named because grapes grow in clusters that were once gathered with a hooked tool. By the early 1500s English was using grapple both as a noun for an iron grasping device and as a verb meaning to seize or to lay hold of. Over time the verb broadened from physical wrestling to the figurative sense of struggling hard to manage a difficult problem. The doubled p in the modern spelling preserves the short vowel and echoes the older French forms, which is the small trap writers need to remember.

How the word is built

• grapp- (hook, from Old French grape)
• -le (instrument/frequentative suffix)