griffe

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡɹɪf/ Homophone: griff Rhymes: -ɪf === Etymology 1 === From French griffe (“claw”). ==== Noun ==== griffe (plural griffes) A claw-like ornament at the base of a column. === Etymology 2 === 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"). ==== Noun ==== griffe (plural griffes) (chiefly US, dialectal, dated or historical) A person of mixed (black and white) race, especially the offspring of a mulatto (person of mixed black and white ancestry) and a person of fully black ancestry. ===== Alternative forms ===== grif ===== Coordinate terms ===== (person of mixed race): see list in mulatto === References === “griffe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == French == === Etymology === Inherited from Middle French griffe, either deverbal from griffer, which see, or through an unattested Old French noun from Old High German grif, from Proto-Germanic *gripiz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡʁif/ === Noun === griffe f (plural griffes) claw coup de griffe ― swipe of the claws talon scratch mark (figurative) signature (characteristic mark, e.g. of an artist) (by extension) brand, designer label (especially fashion) ==== Descendants ==== → Portuguese: grife → Italian: griffe → Polish: gryf === Verb === griffe inflection of griffer: first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive second-person singular imperative === Further reading === “griffe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == German == === Verb === griffe first/third-person singular subjunctive II of greifen == Italian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French griffe. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɡrif.fe/ Rhymes: -iffe Hyphenation: grìf‧fe === Noun === griffe f (invariable) designer label === Noun === griffe f plural of griffa == Latin == === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈɡriːf.fɛ] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈɡrif.fe] === Noun === grīffe ablative singular of grīps == Middle High German == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈɡrifːə/ === Verb === griffe inflection of grīfen: second-person singular past indicative first/third-person singular past subjunctive