*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of grim

From Middle English grim, from Old English grimm, from Proto-West Germanic *grimm, from Proto-Germanic *grimmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY

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Chambers (1908)

1908
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In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding. · Rigid and unrelenting. · Ghastly or sinister. · Disgusting; gross.

verb

To make grim; to give a stern or forbidding aspect to.

noun

A promiscuous woman.

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

From Middle English grim, from Old English grimm, from Proto-West Germanic *grimm, from Proto-Germanic *grimmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Root classification mention*gʰrem-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentiongrimenm
  • Inherited-form mentiongrimmang
  • Inherited-form mention*grimmgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*grimmazgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*gʰrem-ine-pro · to resound, thunder, grumble, roar

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰrem-"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "grim"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English grim"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "grimm"
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      "expansion": "Old English grimm"
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*grimm"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *grimm"
    },
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰrem-",
        "t": "to resound, thunder, grumble, roar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "grim",
      "grim#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "grimm#Old_English"
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/grimm"
    ],
    [
      "*grimmaz",
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    ],
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      "*gʰrem-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰrem-"
    ]
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  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding.",
        "Rigid and unrelenting.",
        "Ghastly or sinister.",
        "Disgusting; gross."
      ],
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        "To make grim; to give a stern or forbidding aspect to."
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A promiscuous woman."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Multicultural-London-English",
        "dated",
        "slang"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Anger, wrath. · A specter, ghost, haunting spirit.

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

From Middle English grim, grym, greme, from Old English *grimu, *grimmu, grima, from Proto-Germanic *grimmį̄ (“anger, wrath”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”). Cognate with Middle Dutch grimme, Middle High German grimme f (“anger”), modern German Grimm m.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiongrimenm
  • Inherited-form mention*grimuang
  • Inherited-form mention*grimmį̄gem-pro · anger, wrath
  • Derivation mention*gʰrem-ine-pro · to resound, thunder, grumble, roar
  • Cognate mentiongrimmedum
  • Cognate mentiongrimmegmh · anger
  • Cognate mentionGrimmde
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "grim"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English grim"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*grimu"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *grimu"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*grimmį̄",
        "t": "anger, wrath"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *grimmį̄ (“anger, wrath”)"
    },
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gʰrem-",
        "t": "to resound, thunder, grumble, roar"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "grimme"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch grimme"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "grimme",
        "t": "anger",
        "g": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German grimme f (“anger”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Grimm",
        "g": "m"
      },
      "expansion": "German Grimm m"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "grim#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "grym#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "greme#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "*grimu",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/grimu"
    ],
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      "*grimmu",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/grimmu"
    ],
    [
      "grima",
      "grima#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*grimmį̄",
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    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰrem-"
    ],
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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.

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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-Z3JpbQ