English
great-grandfather
From great- + grandfather.
A compound of great- + grandfather
Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- ‘to rub, grind, remove’
Proto-Germanic *grautaz ‘coarse, crude’
Proto-West Germanic *graut
Old English grēat ‘big’
Middle English grete ‘great’
English great-
Middle English grandfadre
English grandfather
Today it means
noun The father of one's grandparent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / great-grandfather