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Gripe

(Science: zoology) a vulture; the griffin. Like a white hind under the gripe's sharp claws. (Shak) Gripe's egg, an alchemists vessel.

See: grype.

1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch. A barren scepter in my gripe. (Shak)

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

3. (Science: mechanics) a device for grasping or holding anything; a brake to stop a wheel.

4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress; as, the gripe of poverty.

5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; chiefly used in the plural.

6. The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot. The compass or sharpness of a ships stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind.

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. Gripe penny, a miser; a niggard.