Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1729, 1810-1821, 1880-1914
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GRIPE, v. Sc. usages. Also †grype; grypse (Sh.).
1. intr. To take a firm hold, cling; with on: to seize upon; with to: to clutch at, to hold (fast) to. Cf. Grip, v., 4. (2) and (3). Obs. since 18th c. in Eng.Sc. 1729 T. Boston Memoirs (1776) 436:
Like a bird on the side of a wall, griping with its claws.Sc. 1810 Scott L. of Lake ii. xxxiv.:
. . . their desperate hand Griped to the dagger.Ork. 1814 J. Shirreff Agric. Ork. 52:
The sock has no feather, and the coulter is placed so as to gripe in on the unploughed land.Sc. 1821 Scott Letters (Cent. ed.) VI. 356:
Tell me if the boy . . . can gripe hard as a Scott should.
2. tr. (1) To search, to grope (for). This use is found in Eng. in 17th c. Cf. Graip, v.2Cld. 1880 Jam.:
They gripet him a' ouer for the watch.
(2) To vex, annoy, tantalise (Sh.10 1955, grypse). Obs. in Eng. Ppl.adj. gripet, chagrined, "seized with a fit of vexation (envy or jealousy)" (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Sh. grypsed, Ork. 1955).Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
Dat gripes dee.
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"Gripe v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gripe>
