greife

Greife is a term used in German with several meanings, depending on context. It can appear as a verb form as well as a noun, and may also occur in proper names or heraldic contexts.

As a verb form, greife is the first-person singular present tense of the verb greifen, meaning to grab, seize, or reach. It appears in everyday sentences such as ich greife nach dem Buch (I grab for the book) and in other constructions built from greifen. In written German, greife is lowercase unless it begins a sentence, reflecting its role as a verb rather than a noun.

As a noun, Greif denotes the griffin, a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. The plural form Greife is used to refer to multiple griffins in German, especially in heraldic, literary, and fantasy contexts. The griffin appears frequently in medieval and heraldic imagery as a guardian or royal symbol, and it is a common figure in fantasy fiction and games.

Other uses are occasional and usually tied to proper names or localities. Greife can appear as part of surnames or place names, though such instances are relatively uncommon and highly context-dependent. In most modern German discourse, the meaning is clear from context, distinguishing between the verb form and the mythical creature.