Etymograph

English

grand

Grand comes from Middle English grand, from Anglo-Norman graunt, from Old French grant ‘big’, from Latin grandis ‘full-grown, great’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandis1‘full-grown, great’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grant1‘big, large’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400graunt1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grand1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1863grand1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English grand
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu: “In the mean time, Cluffe had arrived. He was…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandisWiktionary, English grand‘full-grown, great’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grantWiktionary, English grand‘big, large’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400grauntWiktionary, English grand
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grandWiktionary, English grand
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1863grandWiktionary, English grand. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu: “In the mean time, Cluffe had arrived. He was…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with grand, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- ‘to yearn for’

  • grill ← gril ← *grielle ← *grallī
  • greedy ← gredy ← grēdiġ ← *grēdagaz ← *grēdaz
  • charismatic ← χάρισμα ← χᾰρῐ́ζομαι ← χᾰ́ρῐς ← χαίρω
  • grit ← grete ← grēot ← *greut ← *greutą
  • yearn ← yernen ← ġeornan ← *girnijan ← *girnijaną
  • chromatic ← chromatique ← chrōmaticus ← χρωματικός ← χρῶμα
  • growl ← groulen ← groler ← *grullen ← *gruljaną
  • grime ← grim ← grīma ← *grīmō ← *grīmô
  • yar ← ȝaren ← ġeorran ← *gerran
  • ochre ← ocre ← ōchra ← ὤχρα ← ὠχρός
  • grout ← growte ← grūt ← *grūt ← *grūtą
  • grisly ← grisely ← grisliċ ← grīsan ← *grīsan

24 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Large, senior (high-ranking), intense, extreme, or exceptional

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grand”. 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 / Latin grandis / grand