grasp 
II. intrants. To make a grasp, or the motion 
of grasping; seize something firmly or eagerly. 
Than he be-gan to craspe after his arrne, for to take 
from hym his swerde out of his honde. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 649. 
His hands abroad display'd, as one th&tgrasp'd 
And tugg'd for life. filmic., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 2. 
Like a miser, 'midst his store, 
Who grasps and grasps till he can hold no more. 
Dryden. 
To grasp at, to catch at ; try to seize. 
But this ... is the mischievous nature of pride ; it 
makes a man grasp at every thing, and, by consequence, 
comprehend nothing effectually and thoroughly. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. v. 
Alas ! we grasp at Clouds, and beat the Air, 
Vexing that Spirit we intend to clear. 
Prior, Solomon, i. 
grasp (grasp), n. [< grasp, v.] 1. A grip or 
seizure by the hand ; the act of taking or at- 
tempting to take hold of something. 
I long'd so heartily then and there 
To give him the grasp of fellowship. 
Tennyson, Maud, xiii. 2. 
2. Power of seizing and holding; forcible pos- 
session. 
I would not be the villain that thou think'st 
For the whole space that's in the tyrant's grasp. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 3. 
They looked upon it as their own, and had it even with- 
in their grasp. Clarendon, Great Rebellion. 
3. Power of the intellect to seize and compre- 
hend subjects ; wide-reaching power of com- 
prehension. 
The foremost minds of the following intellectual era 
were not, in power or grasp, equal to their predecessors. 
Is. Taylor. 
In the treatment of this arduous problem [the descent 
of man] Mr. Darwin showed no less acuteness &nd grasp 
than had been displayed in his earlier work. 
J. Fiske, Evolutionist, p. 365. 
graspable (gras'pa-bl), a. [< grasp + -able.] 
Capable of being grasped. 
graspelt, and u. See grasple. 
grasper (gras'per), n. 1. One who or that 
which grasps or seizes; one who catches or 
holds. 2. pi. The raptorial orthopterous man- 
tids or rear-horses. See Baptoria. 
grasping (gras'pmg), p. a. Eager to gain pos- 
session of something ; covetous ; rapacious ; 
avaricious; exacting; miserly. 
My wealth, on which a kinsman nigh 
Already casts a grasping eye. 
Scott, Rokeby, iv. 28. 
Stelling is moderate in his terms he's not a grasping 
man. George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, i. 3. 
graspingly (gras'ping-li), adv. In a grasping 
manner; covetously; rapaciously. 
The Pope had proved himself to be graspingly unwise. 
Lowe, Bismarck, II. 357. 
graspingness (gras'ping-nes), . The state or 
character of being grasping; covetousness ; ra- 
pacity. 
To take all that good-nature, or indulgence, or good opin- 
ion confers shews a want of moderation, and a grasping- 
ness that is unworthy of that indulgence. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, I. 137. 
grasplet, n. and . [Also graspel; < grasp + -le, 
conformed to grapple.] Same as grapple. 
For to the distourbaunce of the shippes that approched 
the walles, they devysed longe rafters, to the which they 
fastened grasples of iron and great hookes lyke sithes. 
J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, fol. 60. 
Wher of y e one strake full with her Spurne [rostro] with 
whom the cynquereme graspeled and y other which was 
loose and at libertie fell vpon her contrary side. 
J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, fol. 61. 
graspless (grasp'les), a. [< grasp + -less.] In- 
capable of grasping ; relaxed ; weak. 
From my graspless hand 
Drop friendship's precious pearls, like hour-glass sand. 
Coleridge, On a Friend. 
grass (gras), n. [< ME. gras, gres, sometimes 
transposed gers, gyrs, Sc. girs, < AS. grass, trans- 
posed gwrs = OS. gras = OFries. gers, gres 
= D. gras = MLG. gras, gres = OHG. gras, 
eras = MHG. G. gras, grass, herbage (appli- 
cable to any small plant), = Icel. gras = Sw. 
gras = Dan. grass, grass, = Goth, gras, the first 
growth of corn, etc., a plant or herb; akin to 
MHG. gruose, first growth, = MD. groese, the 
green sod, turf, and prob. to green^ and grow. 
There is no proof of a connection with L. gra- 
men, grass (see gramineous), or with Gr. xP T ^. 
grass.] 1. In general, herbage; the plants on 
which cattle and other beasts feed or pasture ; 
the verdurous covering of the soil, in popular use 
the name is applied to a great variety of plants which are 
in no way related to grasses technically so called. See 
def. 2. 
And forth she went priuely 
Unto the Parke was faste by, 
All softe walkende on the gras. 
Uoifer, Conf. Amant., iv. 
2603 
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the 
flower of the field. Isa. xl. 6. 
When Pha>be doth behold 
Her silver visage in the wat'ry glass, 
Decking with liquid pearl the bladcd grass. 
Shak., M. N. D., I. 1. 
Specifically 2. In bot., any plant of the order 
Gram ineie (which see). 3. pi. Stalks or sprays 
of grass : as, the fireplace was filled with dried 
grasses. 4. [Short for sparrow-grass, a corrup- 
tion of asparagus.] Asparagus. 
A hundred of grass, from the Corporation of Garratt, 
will, in a short time, at the London market, be held at 
least as an equivalent to a Battersea bundle. 
Foote, Mayor of Garratt, ii. 2. 
Will you take any other vegetables? Grass' Peas? 
Dickens, Bleak House, xx. 
5. In mining, the surface of the ground at the 
mine. [Cornwall, Eng.] 6. In turf parlance, 
the time of new verdure; spring or summer: 
as, the colt will be three this grass Ant-hill 
grass. See ant-hill. At grass, (a) Same as to grass (a). 
(6) See to take heart of grace, under grace. Bahama 
grass. Same as Bermuda grass. Barn-yard grass. 
S&me&amckspur-grass. Bengal grass, the Setaria Itali- 
ca, probably native in eastern Asia, now very extensively 
cultivated as a forage-plant. Also known as Hungarian 
grass, German millet, etc. Bermuda grass, a low, creep- 
ing, perennial grass, Cynodon Dactylon, found in most 
warm and tropical countries, where, from its endurance 
of drought, it is a common pasture-grass. It rarely bears 
seed, but is easily propagated by cuttings of the root- 
stocks, and when once established its eradication is diffi- 
cult. Also Bahama grass. 'Between hay and grass. 
See Aaj/l. Black-seed grass, the Sporobolux Indicus: 
BO called from the frequency with which its spikelets are 
attacked by smut. Blue-eyed grass. See blue-eyed. 
Blue-grass region, the rich limestone lands of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee, noted for the fine physical develop- 
ment of man and beast bred there. 
Either no other land ever lent itself so easily to civiliza- 
tion as the blue-grass region, or it was exceptionally fortu- 
nate in its inhabitants. 
C. D. Warner, Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 256. 
Bottle-brush grass. See bottle-brush. Capon's-tall 
grass. See capon's-tail. Cockscomb-grass. See cocks- 
comb.- Cocksfoot-grass. See cocksfoot. Comb-fring- 
ed grass, a species of Dactylocteniutn, in which the cuspi- 
date flowers are arranged in unilateral spUtes. Dog's- 
tail grass, (a) Species of Cynosurus, especially C. crista- 
tus, from its spike being fringed on one side only. (6) The 
Kleuttine Indica. See Eleusine. Dog's-tooth grass. 
(a) The dog-grass, Agropyrum caninum. (b) Bermuda 
grass, Cynodon Dactylon. (c) In Queensland, the Chlo- 
ri divarieata. Esparto-grass. See esparto. Fivefln- 
ger-grass. Same as fivefnger, 1. Five-leafed grass, 
in her., same as ciiujuefoil, 3. Four-leafed grass, 
the herb truelove, Paris quadrifolia. Fowl-grass. See 
.fowl i . Foxtail-grass. See foxtail, 2. Free grass, free 
grazing. [Western U. S.] 
In our northern country we have free grass : that is, 
the stockmen rarely own more than small portions of the 
land over which their cattle range, the bulk of it being 
unsurveyed and still the property of the National Govern- 
ment. T. Roosevelt, The Century, XXXV 610. 
French grass, the sainfoin, Onobrychis aatiea. Grass of 
Parnassus, the common name for species of the genus 
Parnansia, belonging to the Saxifragacece. Grass of 
the Andes, the Arrhenatherum arenaceum, a stout but 
soft perennial grass of Europe, naturalized in the United 
States, and cultivated for pasturage and hay. Hare's- 
tail grass, the common name of a species of grass, Lagu- 
rus ovatus, inhabiting the Mediterranean region and Ca- 
nary islands, and found as far north as the isle of Guern- 
sey. The dense, oblong, woolly panicles bear a resem- 
blance to a hare's tail. See Lagurux. Holy grass. See 
Hierochloe. Hungarian grass. Same as Bengal rfraKS. 
Lyme grass. See Elymus. Mesquite-grass. 'Same 
as grama-grass. Spanish grass. Same as esparto. To 
go to grass, (a) To be turned out to pasture, as a horse, 
especially one no longer fit for work. 
The sturdy steed now goes to grass, and up they hang his 
saddle. Beau, and Fl., Knight of Burning Pestle, iv. 5. 
(&) To go into retirement ; rusticate : commonly used in 
the imperative, with the contemptuous force of "Get out !' 
[Slang.] (c) To die ; go to the grave. [Western U. S.] (d) 
To fall violently ; be knocked down, as a pugilist in the 
ring: as, he tripped and went to grass. [Slang.] To 
grass, (a) At pasture ; on a pasture range : used figura- 
tively. Also at grass. 
If the worst come to the worst I'll turn my Wife to 
Grass. Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 18. 
(&) In mining, to the surface : as, send the ore to grass. 
To let the grass grow under one's feet (or, formerly, 
on one's heelt), to loiter; idle; act very slowly. 
Maistresse, since I went, no grasse hath growne on my hele, 
But maister Tristram Trustie here maketh no speede. 
t Udall, Roister Doister, iv. 5. 
Mr. Tulkinghorn ... is so good as to act as my solici- 
tor, and grass don't grow under his feet, I can tell ye. 
Dickens, Bleak House, xxxiii. 
It was a rule with these indefatigable missionaries never 
to let the grass grow under their feet. Scarce had they, 
therefore, alighted at the inn and deposited their saddle- 
bags, than they made their way to the residence of the 
governor. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 297. 
grass (gras), r. [< grass, n. The older verb is 
graze 1 .] I. trans. 1. To cover with grass or 
with turf; furnish with grass: as, to grass a 
lawn. 
With us in the Bad Lands all we do, when cold weather 
sets in, is to drive our beasts off the scantily grassed river- 
bottom back ten miles or more. 
T. Itoosevclt, The Century, XXXV. 498. 
grassfinch 
2. To throw on or bring down to the grass or 
ground, as a bird shot on the wing, or a fish 
caught from the water. 
Who amongst you, dear readers, can appreciate the in- 
tense delight of granting your first big nsh after a nine 
months' fast ? T. Hughe*, Tom Brown at Oxford, xxxvi. 
At the close of the twenty-fifth round the doctor had 
killed twenty out of twenty-five, while his opponent had 
grassed seventeen out of the same number. 
Daily Telegraph, Nov. 26, 1881. 
3. To lose in the grass. 
One arrow must be shot after another, though both be 
grast, and never found again. 
Bp. Ilacket, Abp. Williams, ii. 20. 
4. To feed with growing grass ; pasture. 
The feeding or grassing of beefs and muttons. 
Privy Council (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 301). 
Il.t intrans. To breed grass ; be covered with 
grass. Tusser. 
grassantt (gras'ant), a. [< L. grassan( t-)s, ppr . 
of grassari, go, go about, freq. of gradi, go : 
see i grade 1 .] Moving about; stirring; in full 
swing. 
Those innovations and mischiefs which are now grassant 
in England. Bp. Gauden, Tears of the Church, p. 183. 
Prejudices, as epidemical diseases, are grassant. 
Roger North, Exameu, p. 131. 
grassationt (gra-sa'shon), n. [< L. grassa- 
tio(n-), a rioting, < grassari, pp. grassatus, go 
about, < gradior, gressus, step.] A wandering 
about ; constant motion or activity. 
If in vice there be a perpetual grassation, there must 
be in virtue a perpetual vigilance. 
Feltham, Resolves, ii. 8. 
grass-bar (gras'bar), n. A bar in a river, inlet, 
or harbor overgrown with grass. Such bars 
are well known to anglers as places where bass 
lie in the eddies. 
grass-bass (gras'bas), n. A common food-fish, 
Pomoxys sparoides, of the family Centrarchidat, 
from 8 to 12 inches long, found in the southern 
United States, the upper Mississippi valley, and 
the Great Lake region. Also called calico-bass, 
strawberry-bass, bar-fish, and crappie. 
grass-bird (gras'berd), n. The pectoral sand- 
piper, Tringa (Actodromas) macttlata. Also 
called grass-snipe. [TJ. S.] 
grass-bleaching (gras'ble'ching), n. Bleach- 
ing by exposing the article to be bleached to 
the sunlight by spreading it out on the grass. 
Grass-bleaching is occasionally used in the clearing pro- 
cess for chintzes, cretonnes, &c. 
Workshop Receipts, 2d ser., p. 207. 
grass-character, n. See grass-hand. 
grasschat (gras'chat), n. Same as whinchat. 
grass-cloth (gras'kldth), . 1. A thin light 
kind of linen, called in Chinese hia pu or sum- 
mer cloth, made in China and the East from 
the fiber of Beehmeria nivea and other plants of 
the nettle family. It was originally called grass-cloth 
by foreigners at Canton because it was assumed to be made 
from some sort of grass. See china-grass. 
2. A thick fabric made in the Canary islands 
of some vegetable fiber. 
The articles of dress were grass-cloth thick as matting. 
B. F. Burton, Gold Coast, I. v. 
grass-cutter (gras'kut"er), . One who or that 
which cuts grass; specifically, one of a body 
of attendants on an Indian army, whose task 
is to provide provender for the large number 
of cattle necessary for transporting munitions, 
baggage, etc. 
grass-drake (gras'drak), n. The corn-crake, 
Crex pratensis. [West Hiding, Eng.] 
grass-embroidery (gras'em-broi'der-i), n. Em- 
broidery made by various tribes of American 
Indians, the chief material for which is dried 
grass or fibrous leaves resembling grass. 
grasser (gras'er), . [< grass + -eri.] A calf 
fed on grass, as distinguished from a fed calf, 
one fed on prepared food. [U. S.] 
grassfinch (gras'finch), n. 1. A granivorous 
fringilline bird ; any one of sundry species of 
Fringillidce that live in the grass or feed on 
grass-seeds. Specifically (o) The bay-winged bunt- 
Grassfinch (Pocecetes gramincus)* 
