Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “grave” come from?

grave (Middle French) comes from Old French gravé, from Medieval Latin grava, from Gaulish grawa, from Proto-Celtic grāwā, from Proto-Indo-European gʰroh₁weh₂, from Proto-Indo-European gʰreh₁w- — to grind.

grave (Middle French): gravel

Definitions

  1. gravel

Ancestry of “grave”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchgravé—
2Medieval Latingrava—
3Gaulishgrawa—
4Proto-Celticgrāwāgravel, pebbles
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰroh₁weh₂—
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʰreh₁w-to grind
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰreh₁w- →