Where does “grief-struck” come from?
grief-struck (English) comes from English grief, from Middle English greef, from Old French grief, from Late Latin grevis, from Latin gravis, from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us, from Proto-Indo-European -us — Forms adjectives from Caland system roots.
grief-struck (English): Very sad; grief-stricken
Definitions
- Very sad; grief-stricken
Ancestry of “grief-struck”, step by step
grief-struck traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English grief
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | grief | Suffering, hardship; Pain of mind arising from... |
| 2 | Middle English | greef | — |
| 3 | Old French | grief | pain; anguish; suffering; sad |
| 4 | Late Latin | grevis | — |
| 5 | Latin | gravis | heavy; troublesome, hard; grave, serious |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷréh₂us | heavy |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -us | Forms adjectives from Caland system roots |
via English struck
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | struck | simple past tense and past participle of strike |