Where does “gravedigger” come from?
Gravedigger is an English compound of grave and digger, where grave derives from Latin gravis (heavy) via Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us, and digger comes from English dig, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰīgʷ-.
gravedigger (English): A person employed to dig graves; A necrophore, or...
Definitions
- A person employed to dig graves; A necrophore, or...
Ancestry of “gravedigger”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | grave | An excavation in the earth as a place of burial;... |
| 2 | French | gravier | gravel; crushed rocks between 5 and 40 mm in... |
| 3 | Old French | gravé | — |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | grava | — |
| 5 | Gaulish | grawa | — |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | grāwā | gravel, pebbles |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰroh₁weh₂ | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰreh₁w- | to grind |