Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Grenoble” come from?

Grenoble comes from Old French Graignovol, from Latin Gratianopolis, a city name combining the personal name Gratian with Ancient Greek πόλις meaning city, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tpelH-.

Ancestry of “Grenoble”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchGrenoble—
2Old FrenchGraignovol—
3LatinGratianopolis—
4LatinGrātiānus—
5LatinGrātius—
6Latingrātus—
7Proto-Italicgrātos—
8Proto-Indo-Europeangʷr̥Htós—
9Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷerH-to express approval; praise; to elevate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷerH- →