Etymologically
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grandfather

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 10:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/; /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑːðə(r)/, /ˈɡɹændˌfɑːðə/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is from English grand- + father, probably formed on the model of Middle French grand-père (Middle French grant pere).[2][3][4] It replaced grandsire and Old English ealdefæder.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The father of one's father or mother: 1424 in the OED,[5] the early 15th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

A male ancestor or forefather is from 1613.[5] The grandfather clause (1899) at first referred to exemptions from voting restrictions in the post-Reconstruction American South for men whose forebears had voted before 1867, which let poor and illiterate whites keep the vote;[2][5] the verb, to exempt under such a clause, is from 1953 in MWU.[3] The grandfather clock (1894) is from the song My Grandfather's Clock (1876); such clocks had been called tall case or eight-day clocks.[2][5] In Sussex and Hampshire a grandfather was a daddy-longlegs.[6]

Timeline

  • 1424 – father of a parent.[5]
  • 1613 – a forefather.[5]
  • 1894 – grandfather clock.[2][5]
  • 1899 – grandfather clause.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The father of one's father or mother.
  2. A male ancestor; a forefather.
  3. A founder or originator: the grandfather of jazz.

Verb

  1. (US) To exempt someone from a new rule because of an existing situation.

Word family

  • grandfatherly
  • great-grandfather
  • grandfather clause
  • grandfather clock

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)