E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Grab.
To clutch or seize. I grabbed it; he grabbed him, i.e. the bailiff caught him. (Swedish, grabba, to grasp; Danish, griber; our grip, gripe, grope, grapple.)
1
A land grabber. A very common expression in Ireland during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, to signify one who takes the farm or land of an evicted tenant.
