Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “grieving” come from?

Grieving comes from Middle English greyve, from Old French greve, from Latin gravare meaning to burden or weigh down, derived from Latin gravis meaning heavy, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us.

grieving (English): present participle of grieve; An act or instance...

Definitions

  1. present participle of grieve; An act or instance...

Ancestry of “grieving”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgrieveTo cause sorrow or distress to; To feel very sad...
2Middle Englishgreyvesteward
3Old Norsegreifia count, earl, steward
4Middle Low Germangrēve—
5Old High Germangrāviocount, local judge
6Proto-West Germanicgarāfijōcount; earl; reeve, bailiff

Words derived from “grieving”

  • grievingly
  • ungrieving
  • ungrievingly
Every word from Proto-West Germanic garāfijō →