Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “greatcoat” come from?

Greatcoat derives from English great and coat, with great tracing back through Old English grēat and Proto-Germanic grautaz to Frankish kotta, ultimately from Latin cubare meaning "to lie down."

greatcoat (English): A heavy overcoat

Definitions

  1. A heavy overcoat

Ancestry of “greatcoat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishGreat—
2Middle Englishgretegreat; massive; amazing
3Old Englishgrēatgreat, large; big, thick, coarse, massive
4Proto-West Germanicgraut—
5Proto-Germanicgrautazcoarse, crude; big, large
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰer-to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines

Words derived from “greatcoat”

  • greatcoated
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰer- →