English
granary
Granary comes from Latin grānum ‘grain’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵr̥h₂nóm1‘grain’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grānom1‘grain’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrānum1‘grain’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrānārium2
- Englishearliest quotation 1837granary2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin granarium
- 2 Wiktionary, English granary
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, George Sand, Mauprat: “For a long time the dormouse and polecat had…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵr̥h₂nómWiktionary, Latin granarium‘grain’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grānomWiktionary, Latin granarium‘grain’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrānumWiktionary, Latin granarium‘grain’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrānāriumWiktionary, English granary
- Englishearliest quotation 1837granaryWiktionary, English granary. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, George Sand, Mauprat: “For a long time the dormouse and polecat had…”
Formed from grain + -ary
Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’
…
Proto-Italic *grānom
Latin grānum ‘seed’
Old French grain
Middle English greyn ‘a grain’
English grain
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’
carl, karl, garnet, geriatrics, churlish, 11 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂-nós
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm ‘grain’
through Latin grānum ‘grain’
grain, granite, gram, granger, grange, granular, grenadier, granule, 5 more
through Latin grānārium
Today it means
noun A storage facility for grain or sometimes animal feed.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “granary”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin granarium. 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 *ǵr̥h₂nóm / granary