English
graf
Graf comes from German Graf ‘count’, from Old High German grāfio ‘ruler’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō ‘count’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*garāfijō‘count’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050grāfio‘ruler’
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350grâve‘count, local judge’
- Germanc. 1650–presentGraf‘count’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843graf
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*garāfijō‘count’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050grāfio‘ruler’
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350grâve‘count, local judge’
- Germanc. 1650–presentGraf‘count’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843graf
Earliest quotation: 1843, Graf de Tropp: “Without ceremony, the Graf, on his entering the drawing-room,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- ‘to seize, pluck’
rape, rapid, repent, rapture, raptor, ravine, surreptitious, rapacious, rapt, 14 more
through Proto-West Germanic *ga- ‘used as an intensifier for verbs, indicating…’
through Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō ‘count’
Today it means
noun A German or Austrian count (nobleman).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō / graf