Meanings
greave1
greave2
greave3
plural greaves · alternative greeve
- historicalA piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin, and occasionally the tops of the feet.
Then he cast off his breast-plate, thigh pieces, and greaves, while Alleyne followed his example.
1891, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, The White Company, New York, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.: Thomas Y[oung] Crowell & Company […], →OCLC1 more example
And through the stained windows bright, / From o'er the red-tiled eaves, / The sunlight blazed with colored light / On golden helms and greaves.
1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLCSynonyms: cnemid
greave4
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin, and occasionally the tops of the feet.
More synonyms by meaning
nounarmor plate that protects legs below the knee
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
greave · noun
- Old Englishgrǣfe
- Middle Englishgreve
- Englishgreave
From Middle English greve, from Old English grǣfe, grǣfa (“bush, bramble, grove, thicket, copse, brush-wood (for burning), fuel”). Cognate with Scots greve, greave (“grove”). Compare also Proto-Germanic *grainiz (“twig”), of unknown origin, whence Old Norse grein (“branch, bough”). Closely related to Old English grāf, grāfa (“grove”). See grove.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →greave · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰrebʰ-“to dig, scratch, scrape”
- Proto-Germanic*grēbō
- Old Englishgrǣfa
- Middle Englishgreve
- Englishgreave
From Middle English greve, greyve, from Old English grǣfa, grēfa (“pit, cave, hole, grave, trench”), from Proto-Germanic *grēbō, an ablaut variant of to *grōbō (“pit, ditch”) (whence doublet of groove) , from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with North Frisian groop (“pit, sewer, gutter”), Dutch groef (“pit, hole, gutter”), German Grube (“pit, hole”), Icelandic gröf (“pit, grave”). Also related to grave.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →greave · noun
- Frankish*graban“to engrave”
- Old Frenchgreve“shin”
- Middle Englishgreve
- Englishgreave
From Middle English greve, grayve, from Old French greve (“shin”), of uncertain origin; possibly from Egyptian Arabic جورب (“stocking, leg cover”). Watkins suggests a connection with greve (“part in the hair”), due to the resemblance of the medial ridge to a part in the hair, from graver (“to part (the hair); engrave”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *graban (“to engrave”); if so, related to Etymology 2 above.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Frankish
Full word history & related roots →greave · verb
Back-formation from greaves (“residue left after animal fat has been rendered”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic دِرْع لِلسَّاقِ
- دِرْع لِلسَّاقِ (dirʕ li-s-sāqi)piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Bulgarian наколе́нник
- наколе́нник (nakolénnik)piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
French grève
- grèvepiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
German Schienbeinschutz, Schienbeinschützer
- Schienbeinschutzpiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
- Schienbeinschützerpiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
- Schienbeinschonerpiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
- Beinschienepiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Latin ocrea
- ocreapiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Polish nagolennik, nagolenica
- nagolennikpiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
- nagolenicapiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Portuguese greva
- grevapiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Russian поножи
- поножи (ponoži)piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Spanish greba
- grebapiece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Ukrainian наголі́нники
- наголі́нники (naholínnyky)piece of armour that protects the leg, especially the shin
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with greave
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
greave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greave
“greave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greave. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “greave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/greave.
Source: greave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.