Etymograph

English

grout

Grout comes from Middle English growte ‘a sort of wort or the beer made from it’, from Old English grūt ‘dregs’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- ‘to yearn for’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰer-1‘to yearn for’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grūtą1reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grūt1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150grūt1‘dregs’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500growte1‘a sort of wort or the beer made from it’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1855grout1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English grout
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1855, – 1857 June, Charles Dickens: “grouts of tea”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰer-Wiktionary, English grout‘to yearn for’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grūtąWiktionary, English groutreconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grūtWiktionary, English groutreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150grūtWiktionary, English grout‘dregs’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500growteWiktionary, English grout‘a sort of wort or the beer made from it’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1855groutWiktionary, English grout. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1855, – 1857 June, Charles Dickens: “grouts of tea”

Linked words

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

grand, grill, greedy, charismatic, grit, yearn, grime, yar, chromatic, ochre, growl, grisly, grist, grimace, exhort, 17 more

through Old English grūt ‘dregs’

gruel

Today it means

noun A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “grout”. 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 *gʰer- / grout

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