English
grow
Grow comes from Middle English growen ‘to arise or spring up’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōaną‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōan‘to grow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150grōwan‘to grow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500growen‘to arise or spring up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595grow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōaną‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōan‘to grow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150grōwan‘to grow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500growen‘to arise or spring up’
- Englishearliest quotation 1595grow
Earliest quotation: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow, become green’
green, grass, herb, arbor, graze, yerba, greedily, ambergris, 18 more
through Proto-Germanic *grōaną ‘to grow, grow green’
Today it means
verb To become larger, to increase in magnitude.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- / grow