Etymologically
Log in

grandio

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word grandio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin grandis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin grandis
French grand
Italian grande
Latin grandio
From the same root
Latin grandaevus ← grandis
Latin pergrandis ← grandis
French grandir ← grand
French grand-mère ← grand
French grand-père ← grand

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɡran.di.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɡran.di.o][1]

Forms

grandiō (present infinitive grandīre); fourth conjugation, no perfect or supine stems[1] Plautus has an old future grandibō.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin grandis (“large”) + -iō.[2][4][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of grandis, whose own origin he finds unclear.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's first example is Plautus, testūdineum istum tibi ego grandibō gradum, “I will lengthen that tortoise step of yours”.[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is an old word, used before the classical period.[6] Transitively it is to make larger: Varro, quoted by Nonius, speaks of soil that cannot make the sprouted seed grow, and Nonius explains it as “to make large”.[4][6] In the middle passive and intransitively it is to grow: Pacuvius writes that the young crops could neither grow nor ripen,[4][7] and Cato's prayer to Mars asks him to let frūgēs frūmenta vīnēta virgultaque grandīre, “the crops, grain, vineyards and shrubs grow”.[4][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a slow step.[4][2][8]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it intransitively of crops in a prayer.[4][8]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses the passive of crops growing.[4][8]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of soil making seeds grow.[4][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make large, to increase, to enlarge.[2][6][4]
  2. (passive and intransitive) To become large, to grow.[2][6][4]
  • grandēscō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Grandio.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/grandio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·