English
gregarious
Gregarious comes from Latin gregārius ‘of the herd’, and goes back to grex.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrex‘flock, herd’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgregārius‘of the herd’
- Englishearliest quotation 1851gregarious
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrex‘flock, herd’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEgregārius‘of the herd’
- Englishearliest quotation 1851gregarious
Earliest quotation: 1851, Herman Melville, The Whale: “The Fin-Back is not gregarious. He seems a whale-hater,…”
first attested First attested in 1688 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1688; borrowed from Latin gregārius, see -ious.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- ‘to gather’
agora, gaon, gaff, agon, panegyric, 9 more
through Latin grex ‘flock, herd’
aggregate, congregation, aggregation, congregate, egregious, segregate, 7 more
Today it means
adj Who enjoys being in crowds and socializing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin grex / gregarious