Etymograph

English

grind

Grind comes from Middle English grynden ‘to grind’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *grindaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grindaną‘to crush, grind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grindan‘to grind’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150grindan‘to grind’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grynden‘to grind’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1862grind

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grindaną‘to crush, grind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grindan‘to grind’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150grindan‘to grind’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grynden‘to grind’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1862grind

Earliest quotation: 1862, Frederic W. Farrar: “One evening, during evening work, Charlie was trying hard…”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *grindaną

Another origin of grind

  1. Faroesemoderngrind‘pilot-whale meat’
  2. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

verb To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *grindaną / grind

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