Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “grave” come from?

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

Ancestry of “grave”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Medieval Latingrava—
2Gaulishgrawa—
3Proto-Celticgrāwāgravel, pebbles
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʰroh₁weh₂—
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʰreh₁w-to grind

Words derived from “grave”

  • gravy
  • gravied
  • gravylike
  • gravyless
  • gravy-eyed
  • グレービー
  • gravey
  • 그레이비
  • เกรวี
  • grefi
  • grévîn
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰreh₁w- →