grift

English

Etymology

American criminal underworld slang, 1906 (noun), 1915 (verb), alteration ofgraft(“corruption, illicit profit through corrupt means, bribe, one's occupation”),alteration perhaps influenced by similar sounding words, e.g.drift,etc., probably ultimately fromMiddle Dutchgraft(“digging, ditch, canal, trench”)(modernDutchgracht), related toDutchgraven(“to dig”),Englishgrave(“to dig”).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/ɡɹɪft/
Audio(General Australian): (file)
Rhymes:-ɪft

Noun

grift(pluralgrifts)

(US,slang)Aconfidence gameorswindle.[from 1906]
Synonyms:seeThesaurus:deception

Hey, what's thegrift?What are you trying to pull?
- 2022,Paul McAuley,Beyond the Burn Line,Gollancz, page172:
  ‘Sounds like he’s trying to stretch out hisgriftfor as long as possible,’ Gentle said. ‘Taking as much from his followers as he can before it falls apart.’

Derived terms

grifter

Translations

con game—seecon game

Verb

grift(third-person singular simple presentgrifts,present participlegrifting,simple past and past participlegrifted)

(transitive,US,slang)To obtain illegally, as bycon game.[from early 20th c.]
(intransitive,US,slang)To obtain money illegally.[from early 20th c.]
(intransitive,US,slang)To obtain money immorally or through deceitful means.

Translations

to obtain (money) illegally, as by con game

Danish:svindle
German:erschwindeln(de)
Hungarian:kicsal(hu)

References

^Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “grift”,inOnline Etymology Dictionary.
^Eric Partridge(1949)A Dictionary of the Underworld,London: Macmillan Co.,page307
^Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone,Anatoly Liberman (2009),p. 32

Swedish

Etymology

InheritedfromOld Swedishgriptf,gripterm.Either a verbal noun related togräva,or influenced byLatincrypta.

Compare origin ofkrypta,kryptisk,krypto,grotta,grotesk,grav,gräva,gruva.

Noun

griftc

(archaicexcept in some compounds)agrave
Synonym:grav

Declension

Declension ofgrift

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	grift	grifts
singular	definite	griften	griftens
plural	indefinite	grifter	grifters
plural	definite	grifterna	grifternas

Derived terms

References

griftinSvensk ordbok(SO)
griftinSvenska Akademiens ordlista(SAOL)
griftinSvenska Akademiens ordbok(SAOB)
griftin Elof Hellquist,Svensk etymologisk ordbok(1st ed., 1922)

[1] Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “grift”,inOnline Etymology Dictionary.

[2] Eric Partridge(1949)A Dictionary of the Underworld,London: Macmillan Co.,page307

[3] Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone,Anatoly Liberman (2009),p. 32

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