Grap"pling (?), n.
1.
A laying fast ho1d of; also, that by which anything is seized and held, a grapnel.
2.
A grapple; a struggle. A match for yards in fight, in grappling for the bear.
Dryden.
Grappling iron, a hooked iron used for grappling and holding fast a vessel or other object. -- Grappling tongs, broad-mouthed tongs for gathering oysters.
© Webster 1913.