English

great-

Great- comes from Middle English grete ‘great’, from Old English grēat ‘big’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- ‘to rub, grind, remove’.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrewd-‘to rub, grind, remove’reconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grautaz‘coarse, crude’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grautreconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150grēat‘big’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greteas gret‘great’
Englishtodaygreat-

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrewd-‘to rub, grind, remove’reconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grautaz‘coarse, crude’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grautreconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150grēat‘big’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greteas gret‘great’
Englishtodaygreat-

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *graut

groat, 6 more

through Middle English grete ‘great’

greet, grit, gert, 3 more

Today it means

prefix With familial designations, used to denote a removal of one generation

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- / great-

Shirt and support for this word