Etymology

grin

G2R1I1N1

Today it means: A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth. Full definition →

Middle English grinnen ← Old English grennian ← Proto-West Germanic *grannjōn
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grin · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*granjōną
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*grannjōn
  3. Old English · inherited fromgrennian
  4. Middle English · inherited fromgrinnen
  5. English todaygrin

From Middle English grinnen, from Old English grennian, from Proto-West Germanic *grannjōn, from Proto-Germanic *granjōną. Related to groan. Compare to Middle High German grennen (“to mutter, complain”) and Danish grine (“to show one's teeth, to laugh”)

grin · noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*garniz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*garni
  3. Old English · inherited fromgrin“snare, noose”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromgrin
  5. English todaygrin

From Middle English grin, grinne, grine, from Old English grin (“snare, noose”), of uncertain origin, but probably from the merger of Proto-West Germanic *garni and *garnī (“intestine”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *garniz, *garnō (“guts, intestine”). Related to English yarn.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.