grape

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any of various juicy fruit of the genus Vitis with green or purple skins; grow in clusters
  2. noun any of numerous woody vines of genus Vitis bearing clusters of edible berries
  3. noun a cluster of small projectiles fired together from a cannon to produce a hail of shot

Etymology

From Middle English grape, from Old French grape, grappe, crape (“cluster of fruit or flowers, bunch of grapes”), from graper, craper (“to pick grapes”, literally “to hook”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greb- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). Displaced native Old English wīnberġe (“grape”, literally “wine-berry”). Cognate with Middle Dutch krappe (“hook”), Old High German krapfo (“hook”) (whence German Krapfen (“Berliner doughnut”). Doublet of grappa. More at cramp.

In classic literature

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading