grime

grime · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*grīmô“mask”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*grīmō
3. Old English · inherited fromgrīma“mask”
4. Middle English · inherited fromgrim“dirt or soot covering the face”
5. English todaygrime

From Middle English grim (“dirt or soot covering the face”), from a specialized use of Old English grīma (“mask”), from Proto-West Germanic *grīmō, from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask”). Likely influenced by dialectal Dutch grijmsel (“grit, grime”), Dutch grijm (“soot, grime”), Middle Dutch gryme (“mask”), Middle Low German greme (“dirt”), compare Danish grime (“a halter”), Danish grimet (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Bokmål grimete (“soiled, stripy”), Norwegian Nynorsk grimete (“soiled, stripy”).

Grime · proper noun²

From the Old Norse personal name Grímr.

Words from the same roots