Etymology Explorer › German

Where does “graf” come from?

graf (German) comes from Middle High German grâve, from Old High German grāfio, from Proto-West Germanic garāfijō — count; earl; reeve, bailiff.

Ancestry of “graf”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germangrâvecount
2Old High Germangrāfioruler; count, local judge
3Proto-West Germanicgarāfijōcount; earl; reeve, bailiff
Every word from Proto-West Germanic garāfijō →