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grenade

Etymology and origin of the English word grenade

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡɹəˈneɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French grenade (“pomegranate”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Old French grenate, as in pome grenate,[2][3][4] influenced by Spanish granada (“pomegranate”),[4][6] from Latin grānātus “full of seeds”, from grānum “grain”.[5][6] It is related to pomegranate and garnet.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pomegranate (about 1532), a sense now obsolete.[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In 1591 the word was applied to a small explosive shell,[7][3][4][5] so called because the many seeds of the pomegranate suggested the powder-filled, fragmenting bomb, or because of its shape.[3][4] Grenades were much used in the late 17th century, went out of use in the 18th and were revived in the 20th;[4] the soldiers who threw them were grenadiers (1676), a name later kept for elite troops.[3][4] From 1891 the word also named a glass container thrown to disperse a chemical.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1532 – a pomegranate (obsolete).[7][3]
  • 1591 – a small explosive shell.[7][3][5]
  • 1676 – grenadier.[3]
  • 1849 – verb, to attack with grenades.[7]
  • 1891 – a glass container of chemicals.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small explosive missile thrown by hand or fired from a rifle or launcher.
  2. A similar container of a chemical, such as tear gas, dispersed when it bursts.

Verb

  1. To attack with grenades.

Word family

  • grenadier
  • grenadine
  • grenade launcher
  • garnet
  • pomegranate
  • grain

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ 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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Grenade.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/grenade. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·