Where does “groof” come from?

groof (Middle English) comes from Old English grōf, from Proto-Germanic grōbō, from Proto-Germanic grabaną, from Proto-Indo-European gʰrābʰ- — to dig, scratch, scrape.

Ancestry of “groof”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishgrōftrench, furrow, something dug
2Proto-Germanicgrōbōhole, ditch, pit
3Proto-Germanicgrabanąto dig; to engrave, scratch
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʰrābʰ-to dig, scratch, scrape
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰrābʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic grabaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic grōbō →