mid-14c., "to reach, grope, feel around," possibly a metathesis of grapsen, from Old English *gr?psan "to touch, feel," from Proto-Germanic *grap-, *grab- (cognates: East Frisian grapsen "to grasp," Middle Dutch grapen "to seize, grasp," Old English grapian "to touch, feel, grope"), from PIE root *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach" (see grab (v.)). With verb-formative -s- as in cleanse. Sense of "seize" first recorded mid-16c. Transitive use by 17c. Figurative use from c. 1600; of intellectual matters from 1680s. Related: Grasped; grasping.
grasp (n.)
1560s, "a handle," from grasp (v.). As "act of grasping" from c. 1600; also "power of grasping." Meaning "power of intellect" is from 1680s.
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?
[Browning, "Andrea del Sarto"]
雙語例句
1. He let the ball slip through his grasp and into the net.
球從他的掌中滑出，鉆進了球門。
來自柯林斯例句
2. His hand was taken in a warm, firm grasp.
他的手被熱情地緊緊握住了。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Attlee was extremely intelligent and his grasp of the situation was masterly.
阿特利聰明過人，對局勢的把握頗為高明。
來自柯林斯例句
4. I know that you'refloundering around, trying to grasp at any straw.
我知道你正不知所措，是在病急亂投醫。
來自柯林斯例句
5. The people in your grasp are not guests, they are hostages.