English
grief
Grief comes from Old French grief ‘grave, heavy, grievous, sad’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂us‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷraus‘heavy’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravis‘heavy, grievous, sad’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400grief‘grave, heavy, grievous, sad’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greef
- Englishearliest quotation 1576grief
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷreh₂-‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷréh₂us‘heavy’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷraus‘heavy’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgravis‘heavy, grievous, sad’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400grief‘grave, heavy, grievous, sad’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greef
- Englishearliest quotation 1576grief
Earliest quotation: 1576, George Whetstone, The Ortchard of Repentance: […]: “And ſure, although it was invented to eaſe his…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’
bar, guru, brigadier, gravitate, aggravation, brio, brigand, 17 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us ‘heavy’
brutal, brute, brut, baryon, barite, 15 more
through Latin gravis ‘heavy, grievous, sad’
grave, gravity, aggravate, grievance, grieve, grievous, gravitation, gravitas, 11 more
Today it means
noun Suffering, hardship.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- / grief