Where does “grassroots” come from?
grassroots (English) comes from English grass, from Middle English gras, from Old English græs, from Proto-West Germanic gras, from Proto-Germanic grasą, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰreh₁- — to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow.
grassroots (English): Of, or relating to people or society at the local...
Definitions
- Of, or relating to people or society at the local...
Ancestry of “grassroots”, step by step
grassroots traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English grass
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | grass | Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by... |
| 2 | Middle English | gras | A grass; Any plant; especially a herbaceous one;... |
| 3 | Old English | græs | grass |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gras | grass |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | grasą | grass |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰreh₁- | to become green, grow; to grow; to green, to grow |
via English roots
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | roots | plural of root; Ancestry; Beginnings; origin |