Talk:grove

Etymology

GROVE, as stated on the main page entry, is from Old English GRĀF[8]. There is no connection with GROOVE[1]. The assumption that it is from Old English GRAFIAN[1] (to dig) is false, even though the earliest known meaning of GROVE is that of a clearing or cut path through a wood. Related to GRĀF is Old English GRÆFI[7] (brushwood) and GRÆAFA[7] (thicket). Remotely linked is Gaelic CRAOBH[4] (tree); but hardly Finnish or pre-Norse KORPI[3] (backwoods): however if it was carried through in a very limited way, this lexeme answers to applicable consonantal changes. Pre-historic words, that have in rare cases been carried through, do not have to belong to the same language family as the native language. That is a principle. Andrew H. Gray 19:22, 7 October 2015 (UTC) Andrew (talk)

[0] means 'Absolutely not; [1] means 'Exceedingly unlikely'; [2] means 'Very dubious'; [3] means 'Questionable'; [4] means 'Possible'; [5] means 'Probable'; [6] means 'Likely'; [7] means 'Most Likely' or *Unattested; [8] means 'Attested'; [9] means 'Obvious' - only used for close matches within the same language or dialect, at linkable periods.