groove

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gʰrebʰ-“to dig, scrape, bury”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*grōbō“groove, furrow”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*grōbu
4. Middle Dutch · derived fromgroeve“furrow, ditch”
5. Old Norse · derived fromgróf“pit”
6. Middle English · inherited fromgrov
7. English todaygroove

From Middle English grov, grove, groof, grofe (“cave; pit; mining shaft”), probably from Old Norse gróf (“pit”) or from Middle Dutch groeve (“furrow, ditch”), both from Proto-West Germanic *grōbu, from Proto-Germanic *grōbō (“groove, furrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scrape, bury”). Cognate with Cimbrian gruuba (“gorge, ravine”), Dutch groef, groeve (“groove; pit, grave”), German Grube (“ditch, pit”), Luxembourgish Grouf (“pit, mine”), Mòcheno gruab (“mine”), Icelandic gróf (“pit, hollow”), Gothic 𐌲𐍂𐍉𐌱𐌰 (grōba, “foxhole”), Serbo-Croatian grèbati (“scratch, dig”). Related to Old English grafan (“to dig”). More at grave.

Words from the same roots