happer

to snatch by the mouth, to snap up (typically of animals); to grab, to seize; to strike forcefully; to catch off guard; take by surprise

“On lui jeta un os, et il le happa.” — They threw it a bone, and it snapped it up.

Inherited from Middle French happer, haper, from Old French happer, haper (“to seize, snap up”), of obscure origin. Possibly onomatopoeic. Alternatively, of Germanic origin, either from Proto-West Germanic *happā (“hook, clasp”), or related to Middle Dutch happen (“to snap, bite”) (whence modern Dutch happen), Middle Dutch haperen (“to stammer, quarrel”) (whence modern Dutch haperen), German Low German happen (“to snatch something up, grab”), German Happen (“morsel, snack”).