grammar

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gerbʰ-“to carve, scratch”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromγραμματική“skilled in writing”
3. Latin · derived fromgrammatica
4. Vulgar Latin · derived from*grammāria
5. Old French · derived fromgramaire“classical learning”
6. Middle English · inherited fromgramere
7. English todaygrammar

From Middle English gramere, from Old French gramaire (“classical learning”), from unattested Vulgar Latin *grammāria, an alteration of Latin grammatica, from Ancient Greek γραμματική (grammatikḗ, “skilled in writing”), from γράμμα (grámma, “line of writing”), from γράφω (gráphō, “write”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). Displaced native Old English stæfcræft; a doublet of glamour, glamoury, gramarye, and grimoire. Piecewise doublet of grammatic.

Words from the same roots