Eager to get money or possessions, often in a greedy or selfish way, or physically holding something tightly.
From Old English 'græsp' (to seize), of unknown ultimate origin. The word developed a moral meaning—physically grabbing became metaphorically greedy.
Dickens used 'grasping' to describe misers and greedy characters so much that Victorian readers immediately thought of Scrooge whenever they heard the word—one writer can basically reshape how a word feels.
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