Where does “gritty” come from?
Gritty comes from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, Proto-Indo-European -kos, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, forming an adjective suffix chain without attestation of intermediate semantic development.
gritty (English): Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit;...
Definitions
- Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit;...
Ancestry of “gritty”, step by step
gritty traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Grit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Grit | A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of... |
| 2 | Middle English | grete | great; massive; amazing |
| 3 | Old English | grēat | great, large; big, thick, coarse, massive |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | graut | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | grautaz | coarse, crude; big, large |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰer- | to yearn for; to enclose; bowels, intestines |