Greave
Pronunciation
- enPR: grēv
- Homophones: grieve
- Rhymes: -iËv
Origin 1
From Middle English greve, from Old English grÇ£fe, grÇ£fa ("bush, bramble, grove, thicket, copse, brush-wood (for burning), fuel"), from Proto-Germanic *grainiz ("twig"), of unknown origin. Cognate with Old Norse grein ("branch, bough"), Old English grÄf, grÄfa ("grove"). See grove.
Origin 2
From Middle English greve, greyve, from Old English grÇ£fa, grÄ“fa ("pit, cave, hole, grave, trench"), from Proto-Germanic *grÅbÅ ("pit, ditch"), from Proto-Indo-European *gÊ°rebÊ°- ("to dig, scratch, scrape"). Cognate with North Frisian groop ("pit, sewer, gutter"), Dutch groef ("pit, hole, gutter"), German Grube ("pit, hole"), Icelandic gröf ("pit, grave").
Origin 3
From Middle English greve, grayve, from Old French greve ("shin"), of unknown origin.
Alternative forms
Origin 4
From greaves, animal fat.
Verb
- (nautical, transitive) To clean (a ship's bottom); to grave.