clasp (n.) Look up clasp at Dictionary.com
c. 1300, claspe, "metal catch or hook used to hold things together," perhaps a metathesis of clapse, and thus from or related to Old English clyppan "clasp" (see clip (v.2)).
clasp (v.) Look up clasp at Dictionary.com
late 14c., from clasp (n.). Related: Clasped; clasping.