Where does “grenade” come from?
Grenade comes from French grenade, from Old French grenate, from Old French pomme grenate meaning pomegranate fruit, from Latin granatum meaning seeded, derived from Latin granum meaning grain or seed, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵr̥h₂nóm and Proto-Indo-European h₂epo.
grenade (English): A small explosive device, designed to be thrown...
Definitions
- A small explosive device, designed to be thrown...
Ancestry of “grenade”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | grenade | pomegranate; grenade; insignia, badge |
| 2 | Old French | grenate | pomegranate |
| 3 | Old French | pomme grenate | pomegranate |
| 4 | Italian | pom granat | — |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | pomum granatum | seeded fruit; grainy apple; pomegranate |
| 6 | Latin | pōmum | any type of fruit (applied to apples, cherries, nuts, berries, figs, dates, etc.) |
| 7 | Latin | pōmus | fruit |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | poomos | fruit |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂po-h₁ém-os | taken off |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂epo | from, off, back; off, away; off, from |