Etymograph

English

grail

Grail comes from Old French graal ‘Holy Grail’, from Latin crater ‘bowl’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘to mix’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1‘to mix’uncertain
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kírnāmi2‘to mix’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεράννυμι3keránnumi‘to mix, to mingle, to blend’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾱτήρ3‘mixingbowl, wassail-bowl’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrater4‘bowl’uncertain
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500gradalis4
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400graal4‘Holy Grail’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500graal4
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1989grail4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin crater
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English grail
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, 1:06:54 from the start, Sr. (Sean Connery): “The quest for the Grail is not archeology. It's…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi‘to mix’uncertain
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kírnāmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι‘to mix’uncertain
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεράννυμιWiktionary, Latin craterkeránnumi‘to mix, to mingle, to blend’uncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾱτήρWiktionary, Latin crater‘mixingbowl, wassail-bowl’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcraterWiktionary, English grail‘bowl’uncertain
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500gradalisWiktionary, English grail
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400graalWiktionary, English grail‘Holy Grail’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500graalWiktionary, English grail
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1989grailWiktionary, English grail. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, 1:06:54 from the start, Sr. (Sean Connery): “The quest for the Grail is not archeology. It's…”

The story

From Middle English graal, greal, from Old French graal, greal (‘cup’), from Medieval Latin gradalis, possibly corrupted over time from Latin crater (‘bowl’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘to mix’

horn, cheer, hart, cerebral, corny, cornea, carotid, cornet, migraine, cerebellum, cairn, procrastinate, cranium, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 51 more

through Latin crater ‘bowl’

crater

Another origin of grail

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgraduale
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grael
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grayel
  4. Englishtodaygrail

Today it means

noun The Holy Grail.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grail”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι, Latin crater. 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 *ḱerh₂- / grail

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