English
gripman
From grip + -man.
Formed from grip + -man
Proto-Indo-European *gʰreyb- ‘to grab, grasp’
Proto-Germanic *grīpaną ‘to grab, grasp’
Proto-Germanic *gripjaną ‘to grip’
Old English grippan ‘to seize’
Middle English grippen ‘to grip or grab onto’
English grip
Today it means
noun A man employed to manipulate the grip of a cable car (the streetcar), therefore enabling it to start and stop.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / gripman