Etymology

griffe

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Today it means: A claw-like ornament at the base of a column. Full definition →

French griffe
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griffe · noun1

  1. French · borrowed fromgriffe
  2. French · borrowed fromgriffe
  3. English todaygriffe

Borrowed from French griffe (“claw”).

griffe · noun2

  1. Spanish · derived fromgrifo
  2. French · borrowed fromgriffe
  3. English todaygriffe

From Cajun French (in period American English usage) and from general French griffe (in reference to such people in e.g. Haiti), perhaps from (American) Spanish grifo (supposedly "curly-haired").

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.