*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Greve

* As a north/Low German, Dutch and North Germanic surname, from the noun greve (“count”). * Also as a Dutch surname, from the Middle Dutch noun greve (“moat, ditch”), related to the verb graven (“to dig”). * As an Englis

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A surname. · A municipality in the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark, south-west of the city.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As a north/Low German, Dutch and North Germanic surname, from the noun greve (“count”). * Also as a Dutch surname, from the Middle Dutch noun greve (“moat, ditch”), related to the verb graven (“to dig”). * As an English surname, from Middle English greve (“wood thicket”), or a variant of Grieve.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentiongreveenm · wood thicket
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nds",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "greve",
        "t": "wood thicket"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English greve (“wood thicket”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "greve",
      "greve#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "greve",
      "greve#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "graven",
      "graven#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "greve",
      "greve#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Grieve",
      "Grieve#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname.",
        "A municipality in the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark, south-west of the city."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "430a5fd2fc963dd508edc14eb726f09d8e039982d8d1f9090eedd55e3f97ce5d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b182fb06280d7bd322f95d5d39fe1a3235001b8a61590114b5307135b26a3460",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1257536
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Greve →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-R3JldmU