gourmet

The story

1. Old English · derived from*grōm“male child, boy, youth”
2. Middle English · derived fromgrom
3. Old French · derived fromgroumet“wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant”
4. Middle French · derived fromgourmet
5. French · borrowed fromgourmet
6. English todaygourmet

Borrowed from French gourmet, from Middle French gourmet, from Old French groumet (“wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant”) from groume, grommes (“wine-taster, manservant”), apparently from Middle English grom, grome (“boy, valet, servant”), from Old English *grōm (“male child, boy, youth”), akin to Old English grōwan (“to grow”). Cognate of Spanish grumete and Catalan grumet. More at groom.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1820 Fine; of superior quality.