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
gravedigger traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English grave
| 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 | gravel |
| 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 |
via English Digger
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Digger | A soldier from Australia or New Zealand; One of a... |
| 2 | Middle English | dyggar | digger |
| 3 | Middle English | -ere | er |
| 4 | Old English | -ere | masculine agent suffix, originally applied only... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ārī | -er |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ārijaz | -er |
| 7 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |