- any of various small, round, smooth-skinned, juicy berries, generally purple, red, or green, growing in clusters on woody vines: grapes are eaten raw, used to make wine, or dried to make raisins
- any of various vines (genus Vitis) of the grape family that bear grapes, including fox grape and muscadine; grapevine
- a dark purplish-red color
Origin of grapeMiddle English grap, replacing earlier winberie (see wine and amp; berry) ; from Old French grape, bunch of grapes ; from graper, to gather with a hook ; from Frankish an unverified form krappo (OHG chrapfo), a hook: for Indo-European base see cradle
- Any of various woody vines of the genus Vitis, bearing clusters of edible berries and widely cultivated in many species and varieties.
- The fleshy, smooth-skinned, purple, red, or green berry of a grape, eaten raw or dried as a raisin and widely used in winemaking.
- A dark violet to dark grayish purple.
Origin of grapeMiddle English, from Old French, bunch of grapes, hook, of Germanic origin.
- grap·ey, grap·y
(countable and uncountable, plural grapes)
- (countable) A small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on vines of genus Vitis.
- (countable) A woody vine that bears clusters of grapes; a grapevine.
- (countable, uncountable) A dark purplish red colour, the colour of many grapes.
- (uncountable) grapeshot.
- A mangy tumour on a horse's leg.
(comparative more grape, superlative most grape)
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 Old Low Frankish *krappō (“hook”), from Proto-Germanic *krappô (“hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *grep- (“hook”), *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”). Cognate with Middle Dutch krappe (“hook”), Old High German krapfo (German Krapfe, “hook”). More at cramp.