grep

English

Etymology

From an idiomatic command sequence in the qed and ed text editors: ‘g/re/p’, meaning: globally search for a regular expression and print.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹɛp/
• Rhymes: -ɛp

Proper noun

grep

1. A program which selects lines in a file which match a given pattern.

Verb

1. To use a program such as grep to search in a file.
2. By extension, to search anything (perhaps a paper document by eye).

Derived terms

• greppable

Translations

use the program grep

• Dutch: greppen
• German: greppen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: grepする

search anything

• Dutch: greppen, zoeken (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Further reading

• Eric S[teven] Raymond, editor (2003 December 29), “grep”, in The Jargon File, version 4.4.7.

Anagrams

• preg

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Albanian

Alternative forms

• grap, gërepë, gërjepë

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *grep- (“hook”), from *gremb- (“crooked, uneven”), ultimately from *ger- (“to turn, bend, twist”) (cf. English grapple, Old French grape, grappe, crape (“hook”), Norwegian grep (“grasp”)). Alternatively a contraction of variant gërepë, from archaic and dialectal gërjepë, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Albanian *ga-repa, from *repa (“to peel, tear off”) (modern rrjep). More at rrjep.

Noun

grep m

1. hook, fishhook

Derived terms

• grremç, gërrefshë, gërraç

Related terms

• gërreç
• zgrip

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From the verb gripe

Noun

grep n (definite singular grepet, indefinite plural grep, definite plural grepa or grepene)

1. a grasp, grip.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• greip

Verb

grep

1. simple past of gripe.

References

• “grep” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From the verb gripe

Noun

grep n (definite singular grepet, indefinite plural grep, definite plural grepa)

1. a grasp, grip.

References

• “grep” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse greip, from Proto-Germanic *graipō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡreːp/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

grep c

1. garden fork, graip – a tool, resembling a pitchfork but where both handle and prongs are shorter and sturdier, and which is used more for digging than lifting

Declension

Declension of grep
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	grep	grepen	grepar	greparna
Genitive	greps	grepens	grepars	greparnas

Verb

grep

1. (deprecated template usage) past tense of gripa.