Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “gref” come from?

gref (Middle English) comes from Old French grief, from Late Latin grevis, from Latin gravis, from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us, from Proto-Indo-European -us — Forms adjectives from Caland system roots.

Ancestry of “gref”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgriefpain; anguish; suffering; sad
2Late Latingrevis—
3Latingravisheavy; troublesome, hard; grave, serious
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʷréh₂usheavy
5Proto-Indo-European-usForms adjectives from Caland system roots

Words derived from “gref”

  • grief
  • griefer
  • griefless
  • griefful
  • griefwork
  • heartgrief
  • agrief
  • grieflessness
  • grieflike
  • griefathon
  • grieflessly
  • ungrief
  • griefsome
  • grieffully
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -us →