Etymograph

English

grandiloquence

Grandiloquence comes from Latin grandiloquus ‘grandiloquent’, from grandis ‘great’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *grandis.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandis1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandis1‘great’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandiloquus2‘grandiloquent’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandiloquentia2
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600grandiloquence2
  6. Englishtodaygrandiloquence2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin grandiloquus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English grandiloquence

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*grandisWiktionary, Latin grandiloquusreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandisWiktionary, Latin grandiloquus‘great’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandiloquusWiktionary, English grandiloquence‘grandiloquent’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgrandiloquentiaWiktionary, English grandiloquence
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600grandiloquenceWiktionary, English grandiloquence
  6. EnglishtodaygrandiloquenceWiktionary, English grandiloquence

Linked words

through Latin grandis ‘great’

aggrandizement, 9 more

Today it means

noun Lofty, pompous or bombastic speech or writing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grandiloquence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin grandiloquus. 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 / grandiloquence

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