griffe

¹ American  

[grif] / grɪf /

noun

Chiefly Louisiana.

1. the offspring of a Black person and a mulatto.

2. a person of mixed Black and American Indian ancestry.

3. a mulatto, especially a woman.

---

griffe ² American  

[grif] / grɪf /

noun

Architecture.

1. an ornament at the base of a column, projecting from the torus toward a corner of the plinth.

---

griffe British  

/ ɡrɪf /

noun

1. architect a carved ornament at the base of a column, often in the form of a claw

---

Etymology

Origin of griffe¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1715–25; from Louisiana French, from Caribbean Spanish grifo “curly-haired”

Origin of griffe²

1870–75; < French: claw < Germanic

Example Sentences

On his bill of sale, it says that he is a griffe, a person of African and Native American descent.

From New York Times • May 24, 2017

I longed to interpose with a warning word, for in the handwriting I recognized the griffe of the fatal Delilah.

From Guy Livingstone; or, 'Thorough' by Lawrence, George A. (George Alfred)

There was a flash of light, and I saw a great griffe standing there, looking at me curiously.

From Latitude 19 degree A Romance of the West Indies in the Year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty by Crowninshield, Mrs. Schuyler

Mon ami, did ever hear of a bourgeois handling sword as you, or bearing arms un coq d'or griffe de sable, en champ d'azur?

From Orrain A Romance by Levett-Yeats, S.

They were only signed with a griffe, or stamp, not by the King's pen and hand.

From Historical Mysteries by Lang, Andrew