Where does “grijnzen” come from?

grijnzen (Dutch) comes from German grinsen, from Middle English grinnen, from Old English grennian, from Proto-West Germanic *grannjōn, from Proto-Germanic *granjōną — to howl.

grijnzen (Dutch): to grin

Definitions

  1. to grin

Ancestry of “grijnzen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germangrinsento grin
2Middle Englishgrinnen—
3Old Englishgrennianto bare the teeth due to anger, pain, etc.; to grin
4Proto-West Germanic*grannjōnto howl
5Proto-Germanic*granjōnąto howl

Words derived from “grijnzen”

Every word from Proto-Germanic *granjōną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *grannjōn →Every word from Old English grennian →