Greif

Greif can refer to several different subjects. In business, Greif, Inc. is a multinational packaging company based in the United States that produces industrial packaging products and services, including steel drums, corrugated packaging, and protective solutions for a range of industries. In onomastics, Greif is a German surname borne by various individuals in German-speaking regions and beyond, with appearances across fields such as academia, arts, and sport. In German-language culture and heraldry, Greif is the word for the griffin, a mythical creature used in heraldry and folklore, typically depicted as a lion with an eagle’s head and wings; the English equivalent is griffin or gryphon. In everyday German, Greif also means grip, grasp, or claw, reflecting a common semantic field around seizing or holding. The meaning of Greif therefore depends on context, spanning corporate branding, personal names, and mythic or linguistic usage.