*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of groat

From Middle English grot, from Old English grot, from Proto-West Germanic *grot, from Proto-Germanic *grutą, related to *greutą. More at grit, grout.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
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 ↗
noun

Hulled grain, chiefly hulled oats.

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

From Middle English grot, from Old English grot, from Proto-West Germanic *grot, from Proto-Germanic *grutą, related to *greutą. More at grit, grout.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiongrotenm
  • Inherited-form mentiongrotang
  • Inherited-form mention*grotgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*grutągem-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "grot"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English grot"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "grot"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English grot"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*grot"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *grot"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*grutą"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *grutą"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "grot",
      "grot#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "grot",
      "grot#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*grot",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/grot"
    ],
    [
      "*grutą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/grutą"
    ],
    [
      "*greutą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/greutą"
    ],
    [
      "grit",
      "grit#English"
    ],
    [
      "grout",
      "grout#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Hulled grain, chiefly hulled oats."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "in-plural",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "7501957a9161346ecb34e6e3716d34c2e5e24ea2941b4e37b5ad4055e20f428a",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 524047
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Any of various old coins of England and Scotland. · Any unit of currency worth four pence. · A historical English coin representing such a unit: a silver coin worth four English pennies, still minted as one of the set of Maundy coins. · A proverbial small sum; a whit or jot.

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

Possibly from Middle Dutch groot, the Old French gros Tournois (“a coin of Tours”), gros being from Medieval Latin denarius grossus (“large coin”). Related to German Groschen.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "groot"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch groot"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fro",
        "2": "gros Tournois",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a coin of Tours"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French gros Tournois (“a coin of Tours”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la-med",
        "2": "denarius"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin denarius"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Groschen"
      },
      "expansion": "German Groschen"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "groot",
      "groot#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "gros Tournois",
      "gros Tournois#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "denarius",
      "denarius#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "grossus",
      "grossus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Groschen",
      "Groschen#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of various old coins of England and Scotland.",
        "Any unit of currency worth four pence.",
        "A historical English coin representing such a unit: a silver coin worth four English pennies, still minted as one of the set of Maundy coins.",
        "A proverbial small sum; a whit or jot."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "historical"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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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.

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 groat →

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-Z3JvYXQ