grass
Vegetation consisting of short plants with narrow leaves, growing wild or cultivated on lawns and pasture.
Etymology
From Old English græs (grass, herbage), from Proto-Germanic *grasą, from PIE *gʰreh₁- (to grow, to become green). The word literally means 'that which grows.' It shares its root with green and grow. Latin grāmen (grass) is a cognate from the same PIE source.
The Journey: *gʰreh₁- → grass
*gʰreh₁-
*grasą
græs
grass
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *gʰreh₁-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Dutch | gras — grass |
| Latin | grāmen — grass (same PIE root) |
| German | Gras — grass |
| Old Norse | gras — grass, herb |
Did You Know?
The word graze also descends from grass — cattle that 'graze' are literally 'grassing,' eating the growing green stuff.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰreh₁-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.