online medical dictionary | definition of gripe

<zoology> A vulture; the griffin. "Like a white hind under the gripe's sharp claws." (Shak) Gripe's egg, an alchemist's vessel.

See: Grype.

1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch. "A barren scepter in my gripe." (Shak)

2. That on which the grasp is put; a handle; a grip; as, the gripe of a sword.

3. <mechanics> A device for grasping or holding anything; a brake to stop a wheel.

4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress; as, the gripe of poverty.

5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; chiefly used in the plural.

6. The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot. The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind.

An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks, fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats when hoisted; also, broad bands passed around a boat to secure it at the davits and prevent swinging. Gripe penny, a miser; a niggard.

(01 Mar 1998)