Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “grain” come from?

Grain comes from Middle English grein, from Old French grain, from Latin granum meaning seed or grain, from Proto-Indo-European ǵr̥h₂nóm, derived from the root ǵerh₂-.

grain (English): The harvested seeds of various grass food crops...

Definitions

  1. The harvested seeds of various grass food crops...

Ancestry of “grain”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishgraynA forking channel or pass; a fjord or estuary;...
2Old Norsegreinbranch; point, head, part; cause, reason
3Proto-Germanicgrainō—

Words derived from “grain”

  • wholegrain
  • grainstone
  • multigrain
  • subgrain
  • foodgrain
  • grainline
  • grainer
  • woodgrain
  • intergrain
  • grainless
  • grainfield
  • nongrain
  • nanograin
  • grainland
  • intragrain
  • grainage
  • grainlike
  • overgrainer
  • micrograin
  • overgrain
  • gren
  • grenöp
Every word from Proto-Germanic grainō →