English
grandee
Grandee comes from Spanish grande ‘big, large’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *grandis.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandisreconstructedearlier origin unknown
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandis‘large, great’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentgrande‘big, large’
- Englishearliest quotation 1670grandee
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandisreconstructedearlier origin unknown
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandis‘large, great’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentgrande‘big, large’
- Englishearliest quotation 1670grandee
Earliest quotation: 1670, Antoine de Brunel, François van Aerssen: “Grandees of Spain are of two sorts, this Honour…”
Linked words
through Latin grandis ‘large, great’
Today it means
noun A high-ranking nobleman in Spain or Portugal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *grandis / grandee