begripe

B3E1G2R1I1P3E1
/bɪˈɡɹaɪp/

verb

To lay hold of; apprehend; grip; grasp.

OriginMiddle English begripen ← Old English begrīpan ← Proto-West Germanic *bigrīpan →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verbbegripe (third-person singular simple present begripes, present participle begriping, simple past and past participle begriped)

present singular third person begripes · participle present begriping · participle past begriped · past begriped

  1. transitiveTo lay hold of; apprehend; grip; grasp.

    He, with his middle feet, begriped his paunch, And took the arms with the anterior; And then he bit both one and other cheek.

    1865, Dante Alighieri, The Comedy of Dante Allighieri. [sic]: Part I--The Hell
    1 more example

    And as for this sword there shall never man begripe it at the handle but one, but he shall pass all other. In the name of God, said Percivale, I shall essay to handle it. So he set his hand to the sword, but he might not begripe it.

    1899, Sir Thomas Malory, Sir Edward Strachey, William Caxton, Le morte Darthur

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
capturenailpinchrapetake

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*bigrīpan
  2. Old Englishbegrīpan“to grip, seize, lay hold of; chide”
  3. Middle Englishbegripen
  4. Englishbegripe

From Middle English begripen, bigripen, from Old English begrīpan (“to grip, seize, lay hold of; chide”), from Proto-West Germanic *bigrīpan. Equivalent to be- (“around, about”) + gripe.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

begripe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begripe

MLA

“begripe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begripe. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “begripe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begripe.

Source: begripe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.