Etymograph

English

gourmet

Gourmet comes from French gourmet ‘a culinary connoisseur, gourmet’, from Old French groumet ‘wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to become green, grow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-1‘to become green, grow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōaną2‘to grow’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōm3‘belly, womb’uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*grōm4‘male child, boy, youth’uncertain
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grom4‘a boy’uncertain
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400groumet4‘wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600gourmet4
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentgourmet4‘a culinary connoisseur, gourmet’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1961gourmet4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grōaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *grōm
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English grom
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English gourmet
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “The vulvae of the sow were popular as a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰreh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grōaną‘to become green, grow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *grōm‘to grow’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōmWiktionary, Old English grom‘belly, womb’uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150*grōmWiktionary, English gourmet‘male child, boy, youth’uncertain
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gromWiktionary, English gourmet‘a boy’uncertain
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400groumetWiktionary, English gourmet‘wine broker, valet in charge of wines, servant’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600gourmetWiktionary, English gourmet
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentgourmetWiktionary, English gourmet‘a culinary connoisseur, gourmet’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1961gourmetWiktionary, English gourmet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “The vulvae of the sow were popular as a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to become green, grow’

green, grown, grass, herb, arbor, graze, greedily, yerba, ambergris, 17 more

through Proto-Germanic *grōaną ‘to grow’

grow, 2 more

through Middle English grom ‘a boy’

groom, 1 more

Today it means

adj Fine; of superior quality.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “gourmet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *grōaną, Proto-West Germanic *grōm, Old English grom. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- / gourmet

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