grippe

Definition

Influenza, the flu.

Etymology

Borrowed from French grippe, from gripper (“to seize, snatch”), from Frankish *grīpan, from Proto-Germanic *grīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreyb- (“to grab, to grasp”). Borrowed from French into many languages of the world. More at gripe.

Example Sentences

• "These other germs are the cause of colds and coughs and grippes."
• ""Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins," remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: "Mon dieu! Mon dieu! Che fais mourir!""

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