Etymograph

English

greet

Greet comes from Old English grētan ‘to greet, address’, from Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną ‘to cause to weep’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁d- ‘to sound’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰreh₁d-1‘to sound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grētaną2‘to weep, to cry’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōtijaną3‘to cause to weep’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōtijan3‘to address, greet’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150grētan3‘to greet, address’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greten3
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593greet3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grētaną
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English greet
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “There greet in silence, as the dead are wont,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰreh₁d-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grētaną‘to sound’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grētanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną‘to weep, to cry’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grōtijanąWiktionary, English greet‘to cause to weep’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grōtijanWiktionary, English greet‘to address, greet’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150grētanWiktionary, English greet‘to greet, address’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gretenWiktionary, English greet
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593greetWiktionary, English greet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “There greet in silence, as the dead are wont,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰreh₁d- ‘to sound’

regrettable, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *grētaną ‘to weep, to cry’

regret, 3 more

Another origin of greet

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrewd-‘to rub, grind, remove’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grautaz‘coarse, crude’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grautreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150grēat‘big’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500greteas greet‘great’
  6. Englishtodaygreet

Today it means

verb To welcome in a friendly manner, either in person or through another means such as writing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “greet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *grētaną, Proto-Germanic *grōtijaną. 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 *ǵʰreh₁d- / greet

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