grandmother English · revision 7492

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1424}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðə(r)/, /ˈɡɹænˌmʌðə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌmʌðɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English graundmoder, from grand- and [[mother]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) a translation of Middle French grant mere, grand-mère.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) It replaced earlier grandame (about 1200) and Old English ealdemodor.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The mother of one's father or mother: 1424 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A female ancestor is from 1526,^(OED 1989) and figurative use from 1626.^(OED 1989) The exclamation ''this beats my grandmother'' is from 1870,^(OED 1989) and the children's game Grandmother's Footsteps from 1937.^(OED 1989) Collins lists the phrase ''teach one's grandmother to suck eggs''.^(Collins 2023) 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.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – grandame, the earlier word.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1424 – grandmother.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1526 – a female ancestor.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1901 – the verb.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[mother]] of one's [[father]] or mother.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A female [[ancestor]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look after as a grandmother does, or to behave in a [[grandmotherly]] way.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grandmotherly]]

+ * [[great-grandmother]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[great-grandfather]]

+ * [[grandfather]]

+ * [[grandma]]

+ * [[granny]]

+ * [[grand]]

+ * [[mother]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}