Etymology

grill

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Today it means: A grating; a grid of wire or a sheet of material with a pattern of holes or slots, usually used to protect something while allowing the passage of air and liquids. Typical uses: to allow air through a fan while preventing fingers or objects from passing; to allow people to talk to somebody, while preventing attack. Full definition →

French gril ← Middle French gril ← Old French greïl
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grill · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromcrātīcula“gridiron”
  2. Old French · derived fromgreïl
  3. Middle French · derived fromgril
  4. French · borrowed fromgril
  5. English todaygrill

1655, from French gril, from Middle French gril, from Old French greïl, graïl (“gridiron”), from graïlle (“grate, grating”), from Latin crātīcula (“gridiron”), diminutive of crātis (“hurdle, wickerwork”), q.v. Related to griddle, hurdle.

grill · verb2

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gralljan“to shout, make angry”
  2. Old English · inherited fromgrillan
  3. Middle English · inherited fromgrillen“to anger, provoke”
  4. English todaygrill

From Middle English grillen (“to anger, provoke”), from Old English grillan, griellan (“to annoy, vex, offend”), from Proto-West Germanic *gralljan (“to shout, make angry”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian grulje (“to make angry”), Dutch grillen (“to shudder, shiver”), Low German vergrellen (“to anger, provoke”), German grollen (“to rumble”) and perhaps also with French grouiller (“to swarm”).

grill · adjective3

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰer-“to rattle, make a noise, grumble”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*grallī“angry”
  3. Old English · inherited from*grielle
  4. Middle English · inherited fromgril
  5. English todaygrill

From Middle English gril, grille (“harsh, rough, severe”), from Old English *grielle, from Proto-West Germanic *grallī (“angry”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rattle, make a noise, grumble”). Cognate with German grell (“harsh, angry”), Danish grel (“shrill, glaring, dazzling”).

grill · noun4

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gralljō
  2. Old English · inherited from*grylla
  3. Middle English · inherited fromgrille
  4. English todaygrill

From Middle English grille, from Old English *grylla, *griella, from Proto-West Germanic *gralljō.

Words from the same roots

Latincrātīcula all →

creelgraticulecraticular

Proto-Indo-European*gʰer- all →

greedyyearningchromaticgroutgristgrowlyearnyardehort

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.