Etymograph

English

grandeur

Grandeur comes from Old French grandur ‘largeness’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *grandis.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandis1reconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandis2as grandis‘large, great, grand, lofty, big’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grant3‘big, large’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grandur4‘largeness’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600grandeur4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1829grandeur4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin grandis, which cites Pokorny
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French grant
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old French grandur
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English grandeur
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “I wrapp’d myself in grandeur then, And donn’d a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandisWiktionary, Latin grandis, which cites Pokornyreconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandisWiktionary, Old French grantas grandis‘large, great, grand, lofty, big’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grantWiktionary, Old French grandur‘big, large’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400grandurWiktionary, English grandeur‘largeness’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600grandeurWiktionary, English grandeur
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1829grandeurWiktionary, English grandeur. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane: “I wrapp’d myself in grandeur then, And donn’d a…”

Linked words

through Old French grant ‘big, large’

aggrandizement, 3 more

Today it means

noun The state of being grand or splendid; magnificence.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grandeur”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin grandis, Old French grant, Old French grandur. 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-Italic *grandis / grandeur

Shirt and support for this word