Etymology dictionary
graybeard (n.) — grimly (adv.)
graybeard (n.)
also greybeard, "old man," 1570s, from gray (adj.) + beard (n.). Middle English had gray-hair (n.) "old man" (late 15c.), and simple gray in this sense is from late 14c.
grayling (n.)
trout-like freshwater fish, early 14c., from gray (n.) + diminutive suffix -ling.
graywacke (n.)
also greywacke, 1806, partial translation of German grauwacke; see gray (adj.) + wacke.
graze (v.2)
"to touch lightly in passing," c. 1600, perhaps a transferred sense from graze (v.1) via a notion of cropping grass right down to the ground (compare German grasen "to feed on grass," used in military sense in reference to cannonballs that rebound off the ground). Related: Grazed; grazing. As a noun from 1690s, "an act of grazing."
graze (v.1)
"to feed on grass," Old English grasian, from græs "grass" (see grass). Compare Middle Dutch, Middle High German grasen, Dutch grazen, German grasen. Transitive sense from 1560s. Figurative use by 1570s. Related: Grazed; grazing.
grazier (n.)
"one who pastures cattle for market," late 13c. as a surname, agent noun from graze (v.1).
grease (n.)
"oily fat of land animals," c. 1300, from Anglo-French grece, Old French gresse, craisse "grease, fat" (Modern French graisse), from Vulgar Latin *crassia "(melted) animal fat, grease," from Latin crassus "thick, solid, fat" (source also of Spanish grasa, Italian grassa), which is of unknown origin. Grease paint, used by actors, attested from 1880. Grease monkey "mechanic" is from 1918.
grease (v.)
mid-14c., "smear, lubricate, or anoint with grease or fat," from grease (n.). Sense of "ply with bribe or protection money" is 1520s, from notion of grease the wheels "make things run smoothly" (mid-15c.). To grease (someone's) palm is from 1580s. Expression greased lightning, representing something that goes very fast, is American English, by 1832.
greaser (n.)
early 14c. (as a surname), "one who smears salve on a sheep," agent noun from grease (v.). As a contemptuous American English slang for "native Mexican or Latin American," first attested 1848, a term from the Mexican-American War; supposedly so called from unclean appearance, but contemporary sources sometimes explain it otherwise: an 1848 account of the war defines it as "friendly Mexican," and adds:
Greaseball in same sense is from 1934 (earlier it was World War I slang for "an army cook," and from 1922 for "mechanic").
greasy (adj.)
1510s, from grease (n.) + -y (2). Related: Greasily; greasiness. Greasy spoon "small, cheap restaurant; dirty boarding-house" is from 1906.
greatness (n.)
late Old English gretnys "thickness, coarseness, stoutness;" see great + -ness. Meaning "eminence" is early 14c.
great (adj.)
Old English great "big, tall, thick, stout, massive; coarse," from West Germanic *grauta- "coarse, thick" (source also of Old Saxon grot, Old Frisian grat, Dutch groot, German groß "great"). If the original sense was "coarse," it is perhaps from PIE root *ghreu- "to rub, grind," via the notion of "coarse grain," then "coarse," then "great;" but "the connextion is not free from difficulty" [OED].
It took over much of the sense of Middle English mickle, and itself now is largely superseded by big and large except in reference to non-material things. In the sense of "excellent, wonderful" great is attested from 1848.
Great White Way "Broadway in New York City" is from 1901, in reference to brilliant street illumination. The Great Lakes of North America so called by 1726, perhaps 1690s. Great Spirit "high deity of the North American Indians," 1703, originally translates Ojibwa kitchi manitou. The Great War originally (1887) referred to the Napoleonic Wars, later (1914) to what we now call World War I (see world).
Also formerly with a verb form, Old English greatian "to become enlarged," Middle English greaten "to become larger, increase, grow; become visibly pregnant," which became archaic after 17c.
great-
word-forming element denoting "kinship one degree further removed," early 15c. (in great uncle), from great (adj.), based on similar use of French grand (see grand-). An Old English way of saying "great-grandfather" was þridda fæder, literally "third father;" in early Middle English furþur ealdefader was used (12c.).
great-aunt (n.)
Great Britain
c. 1400, Grete Britaigne "the land of the Britons before the English conquest" (as opposed to Brittany), also "England and Wales;" see great (adj.) + Britain.
greatcoat (n.)
"large, heavy overcoat," 1660s, from great (adj.) + coat (n.).
greater
Old English gryttra, Anglian *gretra; comparative of great.
greatest (adj.)
early 13c., superlative of great.
great-grandfather (n.)
1510s, from great- + grandfather.
great-grandmother (n.)
1520s, from great- + grandmother.
great-hearted (adj.)
"of noble courage," late 14c., from great (adj.) + -hearted.
greatly (adv.)
c. 1200, from great + -ly (2). Similar formation in Middle Dutch grotelike, Dutch grootelijks.
great-uncle (n.)
mid-15c., from great- + uncle.
greaves (n.)
mid-14c., plural of greave.
greave (n.)
"metal armor to protect the front of the leg below the knee," c. 1300, from Old French greve "shin, armor for the leg" (12c.), of unknown origin. [Klein suggests it ultimately is from Egyptian Arabic gaurab "stocking, apparel for the leg."]
grebe (n.)
diving bird, 1766, from French grèbe (16c.), of unknown origin, possibly from Breton krib "a comb," since some species are crested.
Grecian (adj.)
c. 1400, from Old French Grecien, from Latin Graecia "Greece" (see Greek (n.)) + people ending -ian. The noun meaning "a Greek" is from early 15c.
Greco-
see Graeco-.
Greco-Roman (adj.)
"of or pertaining to both Greek and Roman," by 1811; see Greco- + Roman (adj.).
Greece
c. 1300, from Latin Graecia; named for its inhabitants; see Greek. Earlier in English was Greklond (c. 1200). The Turkish name for the country, via Persian, is Yunanistan, literally "Land of the Ionians." Ionia also yielded the name for the country in Arabic and Hindi (Yunan).
greed (n.)
"excessively eager desire to possess," c. 1600, a back-formation from greedy.
greediness (n.)
Old English grædignes; see greedy + -ness.
greedy (adj.)
Old English grædig (West Saxon), gredig (Anglian) "voracious, hungry," also "covetous, eager to obtain," from Proto-Germanic *grædagaz (source also of Old Saxon gradag "greedy," Old Norse graðr "greed, hunger," Danish graadig, Dutch gretig, Old High German gratag "greedy," Gothic gredags "hungry"), from *græduz (source also of Gothic gredus "hunger," Old English grædum "eagerly"), possibly from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want" (source of Sanskrit grdh "to be greedy").
In Greek, the word was philargyros, literally "money-loving." A German word for it is habsüchtig, from haben "to have" + sucht "sickness, disease," with sense tending toward "passion for."
greedily (adv.)
Old English grædiglice; see greedy + -ly (2).
Greek (n.)
Middle English Grek, from Old English Grecas, Crecas (plural) "Greeks, inhabitants of Greece," an early Germanic borrowing from Latin Graeci "the Hellenes," apparently from Greek Graikoi. The first use of Graikhos as equivalent to Hellenes is found in Aristotle ("Meteorologica" I.xiv).
A modern theory (put forth by German classical historian Georg Busolt, 1850-1920), derives it from Graikhos "inhabitant of Graia" (literally "gray," also "old, withered"), a town on the coast of Boeotia, which was the name given by the Romans to all Greeks, originally to the Greek colonists from Graia who helped found Cumae (9c. B.C.E.), the important city in southern Italy where the Latins first encountered Greeks. Under this theory, it was reborrowed in this general sense by the Greeks.
The Germanic languages originally borrowed the word with an initial "-k-" sound (compare Old High German Chrech, Gothic Kreks), which probably was their word-initial sound closest to the Latin "-g-" at the time; the word later was refashioned.
It is attested from late 14c. as "the Greek language." The meaning "unintelligible speech, gibberish, any language of which one is ignorant" is from c. 1600. The meaning "member of a Greek-letter fraternity" is student slang, 1884.
Greek (adj.)
late 14c., "of Greece or its people," from Greek (n.). Earlier Gregeis (c. 1200), from Old French Gregois; also Greekish (Old English Grecisc). From 1540s as "of the Greek language;" 1550s as "of the Eastern Church." From 1888 as "of Greek-letter fraternities." In venery, "anal," by 1970. Greek fire "inflammable substance invented 7c. by Callinicus of Heliopolis and used by the Byzantines (who in the Middle Ages were known as 'Greeks')" is from c. 1400, earlier Grickisce fure (c. 1200). Greek gift is from "Æneid," II.49: "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes."
greeking (n.)
in typography or composition, "text rendered in random characters or symbols" (not necessarily Greek; lorem ipsum is a form of it), also the rendition of text into such characters, by 1977, said to be from the sense in expression Greek to me "unintelligible" (see Greek (adj.)).
green (v.)
Old English grenian "to become green, flourish" (see green (adj.)). Compare Dutch groenen, German grünen, Old Norse grona. Meaning "to make green" is 1560s. Related: Greened; greening.
greenness (n.)
Old English grennes "green color; quality of being green," in plural, "green things, plants;" see green (adj.) + -ness. Meaning "immaturity" is from early 15c. Walpole coined greenth (1753) in the same sense.
green (n.)
late Old English, "green color or pigment, spectral color between blue and yellow;" also "a field, grassy place; green garments; green foliage," from green (adj.). Specific sense "piece of grassland in a village belonging to the community" is by late 15c. In golf, "the putting portion of the links" by 1849. Symbolic of inconstancy since late 14c., perhaps because in nature it changes or fades. Also symbolic of envy and jealousy since Middle English. Shakespeare's green-eyed monster of "Othello" sees all through eyes tinged with jealousy. "Greensleeves," ballad of an inconstant lady-love, is from 1570s. The color of the cloth in royal counting houses from late 14c., later the color of the cloth on gambling tables.
green (adj.)
Old English grene, Northumbrian groene "green, of the color of living plants," in reference to plants, "growing, living, vigorous," also figurative, of a plant, "freshly cut," of wood, "unseasoned" earlier groeni, from Proto-Germanic *grōni- (source also of Old Saxon grani, Old Frisian grene, Old Norse grænn, Danish grøn, Dutch groen, Old High German gruoni, German grün), from PIE root *ghre- "grow" (see grass), through sense of "color of growing plants."
From c. 1200 as "covered with grass or foliage." From early 14c. of fruit or vegetables, "unripe, immature;" and of persons, "of tender age, youthful, immature, inexperienced;" hence "gullible, immature with regard to judgment" (c. 1600). From mid-13c. in reference to the skin or complexion of one sick.
Green cheese originally was that which is new or fresh (late 14c.), later with reference to coloring; for the story told to children that the moon is made of it, see cheese (n.1). Green light in figurative sense of "permission" is from 1937 (green and red as signals on railways first attested 1883, as nighttime substitutes for semaphore flags). Green thumb for "natural for gardening" is by 1938. Green beret originally "British commando" is from 1949. Greenroom (also green room) "room for actors when not on stage" is from 1701; presumably a once-well-known one was painted green. The color of environmentalism since 1971.
greens (n.)
c. 1400, "vegetables;" 1690s, "freshly cut branches used for decoration," from green (n.). Meaning "ecology political party" first recorded 1978, from German die Grünen (West Germany), an outgrowth of Grüne Aktion Zukunft "Green Campaign for the Future," a mainly anti-nuclear power movement, and/or grüne Listen "green lists" (of environmental candidates). Green (adj.) in the sense of "environmental" is attested in English from 1971; Greenpeace, the international conservation and environmental protection group, is from 1971.
greenback (n.)
"U.S. dollar bill," 1862, so called from the time of their introduction, from green (adj.) + back (n.); bank paper money printed in green ink had been called this since 1778 (as opposed to redbacks, etc.).
greenery (n.)
"mass of green plants or foliage," 1797, from green (n.) + -ery. From 1836 as "place where plants are reared."
greengage (n.)
type of plum, from green (adj.) + name of English botanist Sir William Gage (1657-1727) who first cultivated it in England c. 1725. In early 20c., rhyming slang for "stage."
greengrocer (n.)
1723, from green (n.) "vegetable" + grocer.
greenhead (n.)
1580s, "young, untrained intellect," from green (adj.) + head (n.). As a type of biting fly with a green-colored head, by 1837.
greenhorn (n.)
mid-15c., "horn of an animal recently killed," also "young horned animal," from green (adj.) in sense of "new, fresh, recent" + horn (n.). Applied to new soldiers from c. 1650; extended to any inexperienced person by 1680s.
greenhouse (n.)
also green-house, 1660s, from green (n.) + house (n.). Greenhouse effect attested from 1937.
greenish (adj.)
late 14c., from green (adj.) + -ish.
Greenland
translating Old Norse Groenland, so named by its discoverer (986 C.E.) because "it would induce settlers to go there, if the land had a good name":
See green (adj.) + land (n.). Related: Greenlander; Greenlandish.
Greenwich
town on the south bank of the Thames adjoining London, Old English Gronewic (918), Grenewic (964), literally "green harbor" or "green trading place." The Royal Observatory there was founded June 22, 1675, by King Charles II specifically to solve the problem of finding longitude while at sea. In October 1884, 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C., for the International Meridian Conference. They decided to adopt a single world meridian, passing through the principal Transit Instrument at the observatory at Greenwich, as the basis of calculation for all longitude and a worldwide 24-hour clock. The Greenwich motion passed 22-1; San Domingo voted against it; France and Brazil abstained. The Greenwich Village quarter of New York City has been symbolic of "American bohemia" at least since 1903.
greet (v.)
Old English gretan "to come in contact with" in any sense ("attack, accost" as well as "salute, welcome," and "touch, take hold of, handle," as in hearpan gretan "to play the harp"), "seek out, approach," from West Germanic *grotjan (source also of Old Saxon grotian, Old Frisian greta, Dutch groeten, Old High German gruozen, German grüßen "to salute, greet"), of uncertain origin.
In English, German, and Dutch, the primary sense has become "to salute," but the word once had much broader meaning. Perhaps originally "to resound" (via notion of "cause to speak"), causative of Proto-Germanic *grætanan, root of Old English grætan (Anglian gretan) "weep, bewail," from PIE *gher- (2) "to call out." Greet still can mean "cry, weep" in Scottish & northern England dialect, though this might be from a different root. Grætan probably also is the source of the second element in regret. Related: Greeted; greeting.
greeting (n.)
Old English greting "salutation," verbal noun from gretan (see greet). Related: Greetings. First record of greeting card is from 1876.
greeter (n.)
late 14c., agent noun from greet.
gregarious (adj.)
1660s, "disposed to live in flocks" (of animals), from Latin gregarius "pertaining to a flock; of the herd, of the common sort, common," from grex (genitive gregis) "flock, herd" (from reduplicated form of PIE root *ger- "to gather"). Of persons, "sociable," 1789. Related: Gregariously; gregariousness.
Gregory
masc. proper name, popular in England and Scotland by mid-12c. (Pope Gregory I sent the men who converted the English to Christianity), nativization of Late Latin Gregorius, literally "wakeful" (equivalent to Latin Vigilantius), from Greek gregorios, a derivative of gregoros "to be watchful," from PIE root *ger- (2) "to be awake" (source also of Sanskrit jagarti "he is awake," Avestan agarayeiti "wakes up, rouses"). At times confused with Latin gregarius (see gregarious).
Gregorian (adj.)
"pertaining to Gregory," from Late Latin Gregorianus, from Gregorius (see Gregory). From c. 1600 of church music, in reference to Gregory I the Great (pope from 590-604), who traditionally codified it; 1640s in reference to new calendar (introduced 1582) from Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585); due to Protestant resistance, the calendar was not introduced in England and the American colonies until 1752.
grey
see gray.
gremlin (n.)
"small imaginary creature blamed for mechanical failures," oral use in R.A.F. aviators' slang from Malta, the Middle East and India is said to date to 1923. First printed use perhaps in poem in journal "Aeroplane" April 10, 1929; certainly in use by 1941, and popularized in World War II and picked up by Americans (for example New York Times Magazine April 11, 1943). Of unknown origin. OED says "probably formed by analogy with GOBLIN." Speculations in Barnhart are a possible dialectal survival of Old English gremman "to anger, vex" + the -lin of goblin; or Irish gruaimin "bad-tempered little fellow." Surfer slang for "young surfer, beach trouble-maker" is from 1961 (short form gremmie by 1962).
grenade (n.)
"small explosive shell," thrown rather than discharged from a cannon, 1590s, earlier "pomegranate" (1520s), from French grenade "pomegranate" (16c.), earlier grenate (12c.), from Old French pomegrenate (see pomegranate).
The form was influenced by Spanish granada. The weapon was so called because the many-seeded fruit suggested the powder-filled, fragmenting bomb, or from similarities of shape (compare pomegranate). The thing itself was much-used late 17c., went out of use 18c., but were revived 20c.
Grenada
West Indies island, discovered by Columbus Aug, 15, 1498, and named by him Concepción, the place later was renamed for the old Spanish kingdom or city of Granada. Related: Grenadian.
grenadier (n.)
1670s, originally a word for soldiers "who were dexterous in flinging hand-granados" [Evelyn], from French grenadier (15c.), from French grenade "grenade" (see grenade); later "the tallest and finest men in the regiment" [OED]. Grenades went out of use in 18c., but the name was retained by certain companies of regiments.
grenadine (n.)
"syrup made from pomegranates," 1896, from French sirop de grenadin from grenade "pomegranate" (see pomegranate). The type of thin silk fabric, so called from 1851, probably is from Grenada.
*gre-no-
*grə-no-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "grain."
It forms all or part of: corn (n.1); filigree; garner; garnet; grain; granary; grange; granger; granite; granular; granule; grenade; grenadine; kernel; pomegranate.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin granum "seed," Old Church Slavonic zruno "grain," Lithuanian žirnis "pea," Old English corn.
Grenoble
city in southeastern France, from Roman Gratianopolis, named for 4c. roman emperor Flavius Gratianus. During the French Revolution the city was briefly renamed Grelibre, as if from noble.
Grepo (n.)
East Berlin border guard during the Cold War, by 1964, from German, contraction of Grenzpolizei "border police."
Greta
fem. proper name; see Gretchen.
Gretchen
fem. proper name, German diminutive of Greta, a German and Swedish pet form of Margaret. Sometimes used as a typical German female name, also sometimes in reference to the name of the simple girl seduced by Faust.
Gretna Green
town in Scotland just across the border, proverbial from late 18c. as the customery place for English couples to run off and be married without parental consent.
grew
past tense of grow (v.), from Old English greow, past tense of growan.
greyhound (n.)
Old English grighund (West Saxon), greghund (Anglian) "greyhound," probably from grig- "bitch," a word of unknown etymology, + hund "dog" (see hound (n.)).
The first element in the name apparently has nothing to do with color, as most of the hounds are not gray, but the exact sense of it must have been early forgotten, as it has been long associated with the color in popular imagination. In some Middle English forms it appears to be conformed to Grew, an old word for "Greek" (from Old French Griu). The Old Norse form of the word is preserved in Hjalti's couplet that almost sparked war between pagans and Christians in early Iceland:
grid (n.)
1839, shortening of gridiron or griddle. The city planning sense is from 1954 (hence gridlock). The meaning "network of transmission lines" attested by 1926.
griddle (n.)
shallow frying pan, early 13c., apparently from Anglo-French gridil, Old North French gredil, altered from Old French graille "grill, grating," from Latin craticula "small griddle" (see grill (n.)). Griddle-cake is from 1783.
gridiron (n.)
cooking utensil for broiling over a fire, early 14c., griderne, alteration (by association with iron) of gridire (late 13c.), a variant of gridil (see griddle). Confusion of "l" and "r" was common in Norman dialect. Also a medieval instrument of torture by fire. As the word for a U.S. football field, by 1896, for its lines.
gridlock
1980 (n.); 1987 (v.); from grid (n.) + lock (n.1). Related: Gridlocked; gridlocking.
grief (n.)
early 13c., "hardship, suffering, pain, bodily affliction," from Old French grief "wrong, grievance, injustice, misfortune, calamity" (13c.), from grever "afflict, burden, oppress," from Latin gravare "make heavy; cause grief," from gravis "weighty" (from PIE root *gwere- (1) "heavy"). Meaning "mental pain, sorrow" is from c. 1300. Good grief as an exclamation of surprise, dismay, etc., is from 1912.
grieve (v.)
c. 1200, transitive, "to make worried or depressed; to make angry, enrage;" also "to be physically painful, cause discomfort;" c. 1300 as "cause grief to, disappoint, be a cause of sorrow;" also "injure, harass, oppress," from tonic stem of Old French grever "afflict, burden, oppress," from Latin gravare "make heavy; cause grief," from gravis "weighty" (from PIE root *gwere- (1) "heavy"). Intransitive sense of "be sorry, lament" is from c. 1400. Related: Grieved; grieving.
grieving (adj.)
mid-15c., "causing pain," present-participle adjective from grieve. Meaning "feeling pain" is from 1807. Related: Grievingly.
grievance (n.)
c. 1300, "state of being aggrieved," from Old French grevance "harm, injury, misfortune; trouble, suffering, agony, sorrow," from grever "to harm, to burden, be harmful to" (see grief). In reference to a cause of such a condition, from late 15c.
griever (n.)
"one who causes grief" (obsolete), 1590s, agent noun from grieve. Main modern sense, "one who feels grief," is from 1819.
grievous (adj.)
c. 1300, from Anglo-French grevous (Old French grevos) "heavy, large, weighty; hard, difficult, toilsome," from grief (see grief). Legal term grievous bodily harm attested from 1803.
grievousness (n.)
c. 1300, from grievous + -ness.
grievously (adv.)
mid-14c., from grievous + -ly (2).
griffin (n.)
c. 1200 (as a surname), from Old French grifon "a bird of prey," also "fabulous bird of Greek mythology" (with head and wings of an eagle, body and hind quarters of a lion, believed to inhabit Scythia and guard its gold), named for its hooked beak, from Late Latin gryphus, misspelling of grypus, variant of gryps (genitive grypos) "griffin," from Greek gryps (genitive grypos) "a griffin or dragon," literally "curved, hook-nosed" (opposed to simos).
Klein suggests a Semitic source, "through the medium of the Hittites," and cites Hebrew kerubh "a winged angel," Akkadian karibu, epithet of the bull-colossus (see cherub). The same or an identical word was used in mid-19c. Louisiana to mean "mulatto" (especially one one-quarter or two-fifths white) and in British India from 1793 to mean "newly arrived European," probably via notion of "strange hybrid animal."
Griffith
masc. proper name, from Welsh Gruffydd, probably from Latin Rufus, from rufus "red."
griffon (n.)
alternative spelling in certain senses of griffin. Also a name given to the Byzantine Greeks, perhaps suggested by some of the collateral forms of Greek.
grift
1906 (n.); 1915 (v.), U.S. underworld slang, perhaps a corruption of graft (n.2).
grifter (n.)
"confidence trickster," 1906, carnival and circus slang, probably an alteration of grafter (see graft (n.2); also compare grift). Gradually extended to "any non-violent criminal."
grill (n.)
"gridiron, grated utensil for broiling over a fire," 1680s, from French gril, from Old French greil, alteration of graille "grill, grating, railings, fencing" (13c.), from Latin craticula "gridiron, small griddle," diminutive of cratis "wickerwork," perhaps from a suffixed form of PIE *kert- "to turn, entwine." Grill-room "lunchroom where steaks, chops, etc. are grilled to order" (1869) came to be used for "informal restaurant," hence grill as a short form in this sense (by 1910). In many instances, Modern English grill is a shortened form of grille, such as "chrome front of an automobile."
grill (v.)
"to broil on a grill," 1660s, from grill (n.); figurative sense from 1842, and the specific (transitive) sense of "to subject to intense questioning" is first attested 1894. Related: Grilled; grilling.
grille (n.)
"ornamental grating," 1660s, from French grille (fem.) "grating," from Old French greille "gridiron," from Latin craticula "gridiron, small grill" (see grill (n.)). "The distinction in Fr[ench] between grille and grill ... appears to date from about the 16th c." [OED 2nd. ed. print, 1989].
grim (adj.)
Old English grimm "fierce, cruel, savage; severe, dire, painful," from Proto-Germanic *grimma- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German, German grimm "grim, angry, fierce," Old Norse grimmr "stern, horrible, dire," Swedish grym "fierce, furious"), from PIE *ghremno- "angry," which is perhaps imitative of the sound of rumbling thunder (compare Greek khremizein "to neigh," Old Church Slavonic vuzgrimeti "to thunder," Russian gremet' "thunder").
A weaker word now than it once was; sense of "dreary, gloomy" first recorded late 12c. It also had a verb form in Old English, grimman (class III strong verb; past tense gramm, past participle grummen), and a noun, grima "goblin, specter," perhaps also a proper name or attribute-name of a god, hence its appearance as an element in place names.
Grim reaper as a figurative phrase for "death" is attested by 1847 (the association of grim and death goes back at least to 17c.). A Middle English expression for "have recourse to harsh measures" was to wend the grim tooth (early 13c.).
grimness (n.)
Old English grimnes "ferocity, cruelty;" see grim (adj.) + -ness.
grim (n.)
"spectre, bogey, haunting spirit," 1620s, from grim (adj.).
grimace (n.)
1650s, from French grimace (15c.) "grotesque face, ugly mug," possibly from Frankish or another Germanic source (compare Old Saxon grima "face mask," Old English grima "mask, helmet"), from the same root as grim (adj.). With pejorative suffix -azo (from Latin -aceus).
grimace (v.)
1707, from French grimacer, from grimace "grotesque face" (see grimace (n.)). Related: Grimaced; grimacing.
grimalkin (n.)
name given to a cat, especially an old she-cat, 1620s, as in, or from, Shakespeare's Gray-Malkin, in "Macbeth" (1605); from gray (adj.) + Malkin, diminutive of fem. proper name Matilda or Maud.
grime (n.)
1580s, of uncertain origin, probably alteration of Middle English grim "dirt, filth" (early 14c.), from Middle Low German greme "dirt" or another Low German source, from Proto-Germanic *grim- "to smear" (source also of Flemish grijm, Middle Dutch grime "soot, mask"), from PIE root *ghrei- "to rub." The verb was Middle English grymen (mid-15c.) but largely was replaced early 16c. by begrime.
grimy (adj.)
1610s, from grime + -y (2). "App[arently] not in literary use during the 18th c." [OED]. Related: Griminess.
grimly (adv.)
Old English grimlice; see grim (adj.) + -ly (2). Similar formation in Middle Dutch grimmelijc, Old Norse grimmligr.