Etymograph

English

Greaves

Greaves comes from Old English græf ‘brushwood, thicket’, from Proto-Germanic *grabą ‘that which is dug’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- ‘to dig, scratch, scrape’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrābʰ-‘to dig, scratch, scrape’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grabą‘that which is dug’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grabreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150græfas grǣfe‘brushwood, thicket’
  5. EnglishtodayGreaves

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrābʰ-‘to dig, scratch, scrape’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grabą‘that which is dug’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grabreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150græfas grǣfe‘brushwood, thicket’
  5. EnglishtodayGreaves

The story

Topographic surname for someone who lived near a brushwood or thicket, from Old English grǣfe (‘brushwood, thicket’).

Linked words

through Old English græf ‘brushwood, thicket’

grave, 1 more

Today it means

name A surname from Old English.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- / Greaves

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