English
grass
Grass comes from Middle English gras ‘a grass’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grasąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grasreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150græs
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gras‘a grass’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611grass
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grasąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grasreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150græs
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gras‘a grass’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611grass
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thou turnest man to destruction: and sayest, Returne yee…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow’
green, grow, herb, arbor, gourmet, groom, yerba, greedily, ambergris, 18 more
through Proto-Germanic *grasą
Today it means
noun Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as ground cover rather than for grain.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- / grass