Gripper

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹɪ.pə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. An instrument designed to grasp, hold, or grip objects firmly ; an individual who tightly seizes or clutches something
2. A device used to securely grasp items without slipping ; a person who holds onto something with a strong grip
3. A mechanical or hand-operated tool made to hold or grip objects ; someone who clings to or grabs things firmly

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "grip" with the agentive suffix "-er" attached, so a gripper is literally something or someone that grips. The "grip" half is the older and more interesting part, since it comes from Old English "gripe", related to "grip" in the sense of a handful or clutch, and the verb sense of holding tightly developed from that base. The suffix has a longer road. English "-er" descends from Old English "-ere", which was itself inherited from a Proto-Germanic form built on the Latin "-arius" ending, a suffix meaning one who is concerned with or who does something. That Latin ending passed into Old French as "-ier" and from there into Middle English as "-er", so the same tool-and-person ending that appears in words like "baker" and "farmer" also sits at the heart of "gripper". Attached to "grip", it turned an action into a thing or a person that performs it.

Synonyms: holder, clutch, catcher, clasp, pincer