Eng. grape and related words
Let us now take a look at the origin of Eng. grape [ˈɡɹeɪ̯p], the equivalent of Lat. ūva, whose history is equally interesting and
convoluted. This word also came into English from Od French grape, in
the mid-13th century. Old French grape, first attested in the early 12th
century, actually meant ‘bunch of grapes’, which is what grape meant in
English too at first. Actually, the word grape ‘was first adopted in
plural and collective uses, from which a new sense of the singular was
afterwards evolved’ (OED). The new Middle English loanword grape
replaced the Old English word for ‘grape’ which was winberige, a
compound that literally meant ‘wine berry’. Clearly, the main purpose of grapes
was then to make wine, much as it had been for the Romans and their descendants.
The French word grape that English borrowed did not
come into French from Latin, however, but rather, ultimately, from a Germanic
language, though the French word grape itself with the meaning it had in
the 12th century was derived in French from the Germanic source from earlier
uses. Old French grape, also spelled grappe and crape, was
a feminine noun that meant ‘bunch of grapes’ and it seems to have been derived (in
French) from the verb graper ‘to gather grapes with a vine-hook’, a verb
which was derived, also in French, from the noun grape meaning ‘hook’.
It is this last noun that ultimately comes from (unattested) Proto-Germanic *krappon-
(cf. attested Old High German krapfo), also meaning ‘hook’ (OED). The
French word grape has evolved into Modern French grappe (crappe
in north-eastern dialects) and it now means ‘bunch’ when referring to fruits
such as grapes, onions, or flowers, equivalent to Sp. racimo for fruits,
Sp. ristra for onions, and Sp. ramillete for flowers.
The verb graper has not made into Modern French, since
it became obsolete. Italian has a related noun grappa1 meaning
‘cramp iron’, that is ‘a piece of iron with bent ends for holding together
building stones or the like’ (RHWUD).
This meaning is derived from the original word’s source
meaning ‘hook’.[ii]
Another related word in Italian is grappolo (earlier grappo) meaning
‘bunch, cluster’, referring mostly to fruits or flowers, equivalent to French grappe
(see above), e.g. grappolo d’uva ‘bunch of grapes’, grappoli umani
‘bunches/clusters of people’. The word for ‘cluster bomb’ in Italian is bomba
a grappolo (cf. Sp. bomba de racimo, see above).[1]
Note that the word for a single grape in Italian is uva, just like in
Spanish. The expression for a single grape can also be acino d’uva, but
here too ellipsis may take place and thus the word acino [ˈa.ʧi.no] by itself can also mean
‘grape’.
Spanish also has a word grapa whose main mean today
is ‘staple’ (what comes out of a stapler when you staple things together, cf.
Sp. grapadora and grapar). But the original meaning of Sp. grapa
was is the same one that we just mentioned for Italian grappa1,
namely ‘cramp iron’, used in construction and architecture. The meaning ‘staple’
that is primary today was derived, no doubt, from the shape of modern paper
staples.
Figure 4: Eng. staples = Sp. grapas
According to DCEH, this noun came into Spanish from Catalan grapa
that meant ‘claw, talon’ (Sp. garra), though the word may have actually come
from Italian for its use in architecture. It was borrowed in fairly recent
times, since the first documentation in Spanish is from 1680, but the word is
attested in Catalan and Italian much earlier, derived from the same Germanic
source, namely some descendant of Proto-Germanic *krappon- (see above).
By the way, there is an Italian liqueur known as grappa
in English and grapa in Spanish, whose name is borrowed from Italian grappa2.
This is a homonym of the Italian word grappa1 that means ‘cramp
iron’. It. grappa2 comes from the Lombard (Lombardian Romance)
word grapa meaning ‘stalk’ (graspo in Standard Italian), which
has the same Germanic source as grappa1 and is thus related
to It. grappolo as well. Grappa is ‘a brandy distilled from the skins,
pips, and stalks of the grapes after they have been pressed for wine-making’
(OED).[2]
[1] The OED also
mentions that Italian has a verb grappare that means ‘to seize’, though
it is presumably obsolete as it does not appear in any current Italian dictionary.
[2] The
encyclopedia provides us with more information and it tells us that grappa is ‘a
fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60
percent alcohol by volume (70 to 120 US proof). Grappa is traditionally
produced in Northern Italy and is also widely consumed in places such as
Argentina, Bulgaria,… Uruguay and Galicia (better known as Spanish orujo or
aguardiente)… Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems
(i.e., the pomace) left over from winemaking after pressing the grapes. It was
originally made to prevent waste by using these leftovers. A similar drink,
known as acquavite d’uva, is made by distilling whole must. Grappa is
now a protected name in the European Union. To be called grappa, the following [three]
criteria must be met: Produced in Italy,
or in the Italian part of Switzerland, or in San Marino; Produced from pomace;
Fermentation and distillation must occur on the pomace—no added water.’ (Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grappa,
accessed on 2020.12.04.)
[i] Source: https://twitter.com/furniss_sons/status/1267535089333932033/photo/1
(retrieved 2020.12.05)
[ii] The meaning of It. grappa1:
‘a. Metal bar folded at the ends which, inserted in a wall structure, holds
together the individual elements of the structure itself, or firmly anchors
particularly stressed elements such as the projecting parts of a balcony, coats
of arms, statues, balustrades; it is also used in wooden constructions, spec.
in naval ones, to join and fix boards or beams. b. In common use, a metal
element (iron bar or rod) to be inserted into the wall to hold or suspend
plates, lamps, wall cabinets, etc., shaped in such a way that, once the hole
necessary for its installation is closed , cannot be extracted.’ Translated
from the original https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/grappa1/
(retrieved on 2020.12.05).
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