grece

See also: Grece, Grèce, Grêce, and GRECE

English

Etymology

From Middle English grece (“staircase”), from Old French grez, greis et al., plural of gre (“gree”) taken as a collective singular.

Noun

grece (plural greces)

1. (obsolete) A flight of stairs.
2. (obsolete, in the plural) Steps, stairs.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xviij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII:

     Sir said they a merueyllous aduentur / that may not be broughte vnto none ende / but by hym that passeth of bounte and of knyhthode al them of the round table / I wold sayd Galahad that ye wold lede me ther to / Gladly sayd they / and soo ledde hym tyl a caue / and he went doune vpon gresys / and cam nyghe the tombe

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See also

• amber grece (etymologically unrelated)

Anagrams

• cerge

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French grez, plural of gré (which is the source of gre).

Alternative forms

• grees, grese, greez, greese, greece

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡreːs/

Noun

grece (plural greces)

1. A step; a part of a staircase or set of stairs.
2. A staircase; a set of stairs composing an upwards climb.
   • (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     ‘Gladly,’ seyde they, and so ledde hym tyll a cave; and so he wente downe uppon grecis and cam unto the tombe

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)

Derived terms

• gresynge

Descendants

• English: grece (obsolete)
• Scots: grece (obsolete)
• → Welsh: gris

References

• “grẹ̄s, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-15.

Etymology 2

From Anglo-Norman grece, from Vulgar Latin *crassia.

Alternative forms

• grees, grese, greez, gres, gresse

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡrɛːs(ə)/

Noun

grece (plural greces)

1. Fat derived from animals (including humans)
2. Processed and melted animal fat used in cooking or anointing; grease.
3. Grease used to start or help fires.
4. A greasy unguent or salve; grease as a medicament.

Derived terms

• grecen
• gresynge
• gressy

Descendants

• English: grease
• Scots: gree (a back-formation)

References

• “grēs(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-15.

Etymology 3

From Old English græs.

Noun

grece

1. Alternative form of gras

Etymology 4

From grece (noun).

Verb

grece

1. Alternative form of grecen

Old French

Alternative forms

• graise, graisse, grese, gresse

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *crassia, from Latin crassus, see also Occitan graissa, Catalan greix.

Noun

grece oblique singular, f (oblique plural greces, nominative singular grece, nominative plural greces)

1. fat (fatty material)
2. grease

Descendants

• → Middle English: grece
  • English: grease

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡret͡ʃe]

Noun

grece f pl

1. inflection of greacă:
   1. indefinite plural
   2. indefinite genitive/dative singular