grieve

grieve · verb¹

1. Latin · derived fromgravō, gravāre
2. Old French · derived fromgrever“to burden”
3. Middle English · inherited fromgreven
4. English todaygrieve

From Middle English greven, from Old French grever (“to burden”), from Latin gravō, gravāre, from adjective gravis (“grave”). For the meaning development compare Russian тяготи́ть (tjagotítʹ, “to be a burden (on), to oppress”), Russian тужи́ть (tužítʹ, “to experience grief”), related to тяжёлый (tjažólyj, “heavy, grave”), тя́жкий (tjážkij).

grieve · noun²

1. Middle Low German · derived fromgrēve
2. Old Norse · derived fromgreifi
3. Middle English · inherited fromgreve
4. English todaygrieve

From Middle English greve, greyve, grave, grafe, from Old Norse greifi, from Middle Low German grēve, grâve, related to Old English grœfa, groefa, variants of Old English ġerēfa (“steward, reeve”). More at reeve.

Grieve · proper noun³

1. Middle English · derived fromgreyve“steward, bailiff, principal officer”
2. English todayGrieve

English surname, from Middle English greyve (“steward, bailiff, principal officer”). Compare Reeve, Sheriff. Also sometimes a variant of Grave.

Words from the same roots