Where does “grieve” come from?
Grieve comes from Middle English greyve, from Old French greve, from Latin gravare meaning to make heavy or burden, derived from Latin gravis meaning heavy, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us.
grieve (English): To cause sorrow or distress to; To feel very sad...
Definitions
- To cause sorrow or distress to; To feel very sad...
Ancestry of “grieve”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | greyve | steward |
| 2 | Old Norse | greifi | a count, earl, steward |
| 3 | Middle Low German | grēve | — |
| 4 | Old High German | grāvio | count, local judge |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | garāfijō | count; earl; reeve, bailiff |
Words derived from “grieve”