Etymologically
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grandmother

Etymology and origin of the English word grandmother

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1424

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðə(r)/, /ˈɡɹænˌmʌðə/ (UK); /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English graundmoder, from grand- and mother,[2][3] a translation of Middle French grant mere, grand-mère.[2][4] It replaced earlier grandame (about 1200) and Old English ealdemodor.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The mother of one's father or mother: 1424 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.[5][3]

Semantic evolution

A female ancestor is from 1526,[5] and figurative use from 1626.[5] The exclamation this beats my grandmother is from 1870,[5] and the children's game Grandmother's Footsteps from 1937.[5] Collins lists the phrase teach one's grandmother to suck eggs.[6] In dialect it formed plant names, such as grandmother's bonnets for monkshood in Somerset and grandmother's slippers for bird's-foot trefoil in Hampshire.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – grandame, the earlier word.[3]
  • 1424 – grandmother.[5]
  • 1526 – a female ancestor.[5]
  • 1901 – the verb.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The mother of one's father or mother.
  2. A female ancestor.

Verb

  1. To look after as a grandmother does, or to behave in a grandmotherly way.

Word family

  • grandmotherly
  • great-grandmother

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ 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)
Cite this entry

“Grandmother.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/grandmother. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·