Where does “grievous” come from?

Grievous comes from Middle English grevous, from Old French grevous, from Latin gravis meaning heavy or serious, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us.

grievous (English): Causing grief, pain or sorrow; Serious, grave,...

Definitions

  1. Causing grief, pain or sorrow; Serious, grave,...

Ancestry of “grievous”, 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 “grievous”

Every word from Proto-West Germanic garāfijō →Every word from Old High German grāvio →Every word from Middle Low German grēve →