*gripe*

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Griped p. pr. & vb. n. Griping. ] [ AS. gripan; akin to D. grijpen, G. greifen, OHG. gr&unr_;fan, Icel. gripa, Sw. gripe, Dan. gribe, Goth. greipan; cf. Lith. graibyti, Russ. grabite to plunder, Skr. grah, grabh, to seize. Cf. Grip, v. t., Grope. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To catch with the hand; to clasp closely with the fingers; to clutch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To seize and hold fast; to embrace closely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wouldst thou gripe both gain and pleasure ? Robynson (More's Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To pinch; to distress. Specifically, to cause pinching and spasmodic pain to the bowels of, as by the effects of certain purgative or indigestible substances. [ 1913 Webster ]

How inly sorrow gripes his soul. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To clutch, hold, or pinch a thing, esp. money, with a gripe or as with a gripe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To suffer griping pains. Jocke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) To tend to come up into the wind, as a ship which, when sailing closehauled, requires constant labor at the helm. R. H. Dana, Jr.

2. to complain [ PJC ]

n. 1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch. [ 1913 Webster ]

A barren scepter in my gripe. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That on which the grasp is put; a handle; a grip; as, the gripe of a sword. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mech.) A device for grasping or holding anything; a brake to stop a wheel. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress; as, the gripe of poverty. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; -- chiefly used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Naut.) (a) The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot. (b) The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind. (c) pl. An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks, fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats when hoisted; also, broad bands passed around a boat to secure it at the davits and prevent swinging. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gripe penny,
a miser; a niggard. D. L. Mackenzie. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Disposed to gripe; extortionate. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. One who gripes; an oppressor; an extortioner. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]