Etymology

greaves

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Today it means: The unmeltable residue left after animal fat has been rendered. Full definition →

Middle Low German grêve ← Old Saxon *griovo ← Proto-West Germanic *greubō
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greaves · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*greubō“roughage, brushwood, kindling”
  2. Old Saxon · derived from*griovo
  3. Middle Low German · derived fromgrêve
  4. English todaygreaves

From Low German (compare German Low German Greev, Greve (“greaves”)), from Middle Low German grêve, from Old Saxon *griovo, from Proto-West Germanic *greubō (“roughage, brushwood, kindling”), perhaps related to *grubaz (“rough, coarse”), the root of German Griebe (“greaves, crackling”). Possibly related to gruff. Also compare Old High German grob (“coarse”) (modern German grob).

Greaves · proper noun2

  1. Old English · derived fromgrǣfe“brushwood, thicket”
  2. English todayGreaves

Topographic surname for someone who lived near a brushwood or thicket, from Old English grǣfe (“brushwood, thicket”).

Words from the same roots

Middle Low Germangrêve all →

grieve

Old Englishgrǣfe all →

greave

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.