Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “engross” come from?

Engross comes from Anglo-Norman engrosser, meaning to buy up goods in bulk for resale, a practice that expanded the term's sense to monopolize or absorb entirely.

engross (English): To write in large, aesthetic, and legible...

Definitions

  1. To write in large, aesthetic, and legible...

Ancestry of “engross”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishengrossen—
2Anglo-Norman Frenchengrosser—
3Medieval Latiningrossō—
4Latingrossuscoarse, unrefined; young, green, immature; thick,...
5Old High Germangrōzbig, large, thick; great; large, thick, coarse
6Proto-West Germanicgraut—
7Proto-Germanicgrautazcoarse, crude; big, large
8Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰer-to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines

Words derived from “engross”

  • engrossing
  • engrossment
  • engrossingly
  • engrosser
  • engrosseth
  • unengrossing
  • engrossest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer- →