Meanings
grandfathering1
noungrandfathering (usually uncountable, plural grandfatherings)
plural grandfatherings
- uncountableusuallyExemption from new legislation or regulations.
The grandfathering of boundaries has been, on average, a pacifying development […]
2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 3111 more example
And on Monday, an appeals court in Massachusetts said that it would no longer use the term “grandfathering” because “it has racist origins.”
[2020 August 4, Azi Paybarah, “Massachusetts Court Won’t Use Term ‘Grandfathering,’ Citing Its Racist Origins”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
grandfathering2
verb
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of grandfather
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
grandfathering. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfathering
MLA
“grandfathering.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfathering. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grandfathering,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfathering.
Source: grandfathering on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.