Online Etymology Dictionary

Gregory: male proper name, common in England and Scotland by 1143 (Gregory I sent the men who converted the English to Christianity), from L. Gregorius, from Gk. gregorios, a derivative of gregoros "to be watchful," from PIE base *ger- "to be awake" (cf. Skt. jagarti "he is awake," Avestan agarayeiti "wakes up, rouses"). At times confused with L. gregarius (see gregarious).
gremlin: "small imaginary creature blamed for mechanical failures," oral use in R.A.F. aviators' slang from Malta, Middle East and India said to date to 1923. First printed use perhaps in poem in journal "Aeroplane" April 10, 1929; certainly in use by 1941, and popularized in World War II and picked up by Americans (e.g. "New York Times" Magazine April 11, 1943). Possibly from a dial. survival of O.E. gremman "to anger, vex" + -lin of goblin; or from Ir. gruaimin "bad-tempered little fellow." Surfer slang for "young surfer, beach trouble-maker" is from 1961.
grenade: "small explosive shell," 1591, from M.Fr. grenade "pomegranate," from O.Fr. pomegrenate (infl. by Sp. granada), so called because the many-seeded fruit suggested the powder-filled, fragmenting bomb, or from similarities of shape. Grenadiers (1676) originally were soldiers "who were dexterous in flinging hand-granados" [Evelyn], from Fr. grenadier; later "the tallest and finest men in the regiment."
grenadine: 1896, from Fr. sirop de grenadin, from M.Fr. grenade "pomegranate."
Gretchen: fem. proper name, Ger. dim. of Greta, a Ger. and Swed. pet form of Margaret.
grey: see gray.
greyhound: O.E. grighund, from grig- "bitch" + hund "dog" (see hound). The name has nothing to do with color, and most are not gray. The O.N. form of the word is preserved in Hjalti's couplet that almost sparked war between pagans and Christians in early Iceland:
Vilkat goð geyja
grey þykkjumk Freyja

"I will not blaspheme the gods,
but I think Freyja is a bitch"
grid: 1839, shortening of gridiron. City planning sense is from 1954 (hence gridlock 1980). Meaning "network of transmission lines" first recorded 1926.
griddle: early 13c., from O.N.Fr. gredil, from L. craticula (see grill).
gridiron: early 14c., griderne, alteration (by association with iron) of gridire (late 13c.), a variant of gridil (see griddle). Confusion of "l" and "r" was common in Norman dialect.
grief: early 13c., "hardship, suffering," from O.Fr. grief "wrong, grievance," from grever "afflict, burden, oppress," from L. gravare "to cause grief, make heavy," from gravis "weighty" (see grave (adj.)). Meaning "mental pain, sorrow" is from c.1300.
grievance: c.1300, "state of being aggrieved," from O.Fr. grevance, from grever "to harm" (see grieve). In reference to a cause of such a condition, from late 15c.
grieve: early 13c., "cause pain," from tonic stem of O.Fr. grever (see grief). Meaning "be very sad, lament" is from c.1300.
grievous: late 13c., from Anglo-Fr. grevous, O.Fr. grevas, from grief "grief" (see grief).
griffin: c.1200, from O.Fr. grifon "a bird of prey," also "fabulous bird of Gk. mythology" (with head and wings of an eagle, body and hind quarters of a lion, believed to inhabit Scythia and guard its gold), from L.L. gryphus, misspelling of grypus, variant of gryps (gen. grypos), from Gk. gryps (gen. grypos) "curved, hook-nosed," in reference to its beak. But Klein suggests a Sem. source, "through the medium of the Hittites," and cites Heb. kerubh "a winged angel," Akkad. karibu, epithet of the bull-colossus (see cherub).
Griffith: masc. proper name, from Welsh Gruffydd, probably from L. Rufus, from rufus "red."
grifter: "confidence trickster," 1915, carnival and circus slang, probably an alteration of grafter (see graft (n.)). Gradually extended to "any non-violent criminal."
grill (n.): 1685, from Fr. gril, from O.Fr. greil, alteration of graille, from L. craticula "gridiron, small griddle," dim. of cratis "wickerwork." The verb meaning "to broil on a grill" is from 1668; figurative sense from 1842, and the specific (trans.) sense of "to subject to intense questioning" is first attested 1894. In many instances, Mod.Eng. grill is a shortened form of grille (q.v.), such as "chrome front of an automobile."
grille: "ornamental grating," 1661, from Fr. grille (fem.) "grating," from O.Fr. greille "gridiron," from L. craticula "gridiron" (see grill).
grim: O.E. grimm "fierce, cruel," from P.Gmc. *grimmaz (cf. Ger. grimm, O.N. grimmr, Swed. grym "fierce, furious"), from PIE *ghrem- perhaps imitative of the sound of rumbling thunder (cf. Gk. khremizein "to neigh," O.C.S. vuzgrimeti "to thunder," Rus. gremet' "thunder"). A weaker word now than once it was; sense of "dreary, gloomy" first recorded c.1175. It also had a verb form in O.E., grimman (class III strong verb; past tense gramm, p.p. grummen). O.E. also had a noun, grima "goblin, specter," perhaps also a proper name or attribute-name of a god, hence its appearance as an element in place names. As a noun meaning "a form of bogey or haunting spirit," first recorded 1628.
grimace: 1651, from Fr. grimace, from M.Fr. grimache, from O.Fr. grimuche, possibly from Frank. (cf. O.S. grima), from same P.Gmc. root as grim, + pejorative suffix -azo (from L. -aceus).
grimalkin: 1630, name given to a cat (cf. Shakespeare's Gray-Malkin, in "Macbeth," 1605), hence any cat, especially an old she-cat; from gray + Malkin, dim. of fem. proper name Matilda or Maud.
grime: 1590, probably alteration of M.E. grim "dirt, filth," from M.L.G. greme "dirt" (cf. Flem. grijm, M.Du. grime). The verb was earliest (as M.E. grymen, c.1470) but was replaced early 16c. by begrime.
grin: O.E. grennian "show the teeth" (in pain or anger), common Gmc. (cf. O.N. grenja "to howl," grina "to grin;" Du. grienen "to whine;" Ger. greinen "to cry"), from PIE base *ghrei- "be open." Sense of "bare the teeth in a broad smile" is c.1480, perhaps via the notion of "forced or unnatural smile." the noun is first attested 1635.
Grinch: "spoilsport;" all usages trace to Dr. Seuss' 1957 book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
grind: O.E. grindan, forgrindan "destroy by crushing" (class III strong verb; past tense grand, pp. grunden), from P.Gmc. *grindanan (cf. Du. grenden), related to ground, from PIE *ghrendh- "crushing" (cf. L. frendere "to gnash the teeth," Gk. khondros "corn, grain," Lith. grendu "to scrape, scratch"). The noun sense "steady, hard work" first recorded 1851 in college student slang; the meaning "hard-working student" is Amer.Eng. slang from 1864. Grinder as a type of large sandwich is first recorded 1954. To keep one's nose to the grindstone was originally to get control of another and treat him harshly:
"This Text holdeth their noses so hard to the grindstone, that it clean disfigureth their Faces." [Frith, "Mirror to know Thyself," 1532]
The main modern (reflective) sense of "work hard" is from 1828.
gringo: 1849, from Mex.Sp. gringo, contemptuous word for "foreigner," from Sp. gringo "foreign, unintelligible talk, gibberish," perhaps ult. from griego "Greek." The "Diccionario Castellano" (1787) says gringo was used in Malaga for "anyone who spoke Spanish badly," and in Madrid for "the Irish."
grip (v.): O.E. grippan "to grip" (class I strong verb; past tense grap, pp. gripen), from W.Gmc. *gripjan (cf. O.H.G. gripfen), from root of gripe (q.v.). The noun developed from fusion of O.E. gripe "grasp, clutch" and gripa "handful, sheaf." Meaning "stage hand" is from 1888, from their work shifting scenery. Gripping in fig. sense of "grasping the emotions" is from 1896.
gripe: O.E. gripan "grasp at, lay hold," from P.Gmc. *gripanan (cf. O.S. gripan, O.N. gripa, Du. grijpen, Goth. greifen "to seize"), from PIE base *ghrib- (cf. Lith. griebiu "to seize"). Figurative sense of "complain, grouse" is first attested 1932, probably from earlier meaning "gripping pain in the bowels" (1601).
grippe: 1776, from Fr. grippe "influenza," originally "seizure," from gripper "to grasp, hook," of Frank. origin, from P.Gmc. *gripanan (see grip). Supposedly in reference to constriction of the throat felt by sufferers; the word spread through European languages after the influenza epidemic during the Rus. occupation of Prussia in the Seven Years' War (c.1760).
Griselda: fem. proper name, from It., from Ger. Grishilda, from O.H.G. grisja hilda "gray battle-maid."
grisly: O.E. grislic "horrible, dreadful," from grisan "to shudder, fear" (cf Du. griezelen, Ger. grausen "to shudder, fear").
grist: O.E. grist "action of grinding, grain to be ground," perhaps related to grindan "to grind" (see grind). Meaning "wheat which is to be ground" is c.1430; the figurative extension from this sense is from the same date.
gristle: O.E. gristle "cartilage," related to grost "gristle," from a common W.Gmc. word (cf. O.Fris., M.L.G. gristel, O.H.G. crostila).
grit: O.E. greot "sand, dust, earth, gravel," from P.Gmc. *greutan "tiny particles of crushed rock" (cf. O.S. griot, O.Fris. gret, O.N. grjot "rock, stone," Ger. Grieß "grit, sand"), from PIE ghreu- "rub, pound, crush" (cf. Lith. grudas "corn, kernel," O.C.S. gruda "clod"). Sense of "pluck, spirit" first recorded Amer.Eng. 1808. Gritty in sense of "unpleasant" (of literature, etc.) is 1882, in reference to the sensation of eating gritty bread.
grits: O.E. grytt (pl. grytta) "coarse meal, groats, grits," from P.Gmc. *grutja-, from the same root as grit, the two words having influenced one another in sound development. In Amer.Eng., corn-based grits and hominy (q.v.) were used interchangeably in Colonial times. Later, hominy meant whole kernels that had been skinned but not ground, but in the U.S. South, hominy meant skinned kernels that could be ground coarsely to make grits. In New Orleans, whole kernels are big hominy and ground kernels little hominy.
grizzled: "gray," 1319, from O.Fr. grisel, dim. of gris "gray," from a Frank. source (cf. O.H.G. gris "gray"). The -zz- spelling is c.1425. Grizzly is 1594; grizzly bear (ursus horribilis) is first recorded 1807, but belongs rather to grisly.
groan: O.E. granian "to groan, murmur," from P.Gmc. *grain-, of imitative origin, or related to grin (cf. O.N. grenja "to howl").
groat: "medieval European coin," late 14c., probably from M.Du. groot, elliptical use of adj. meaning "great" (in sense of "thick"); see great. Recognized from 13c. in various nations, in 14c. it was roughly one-eighth an ounce of silver; the English groat coined 1351-2 was worth four pence.
groats: "hulled grain," c.1100, from O.E. grot "particle," from same root as grit.
grocer: 1255, "one who buys and sells in gross," from Anglo-Fr. grosser, from M.L. grossarius "wholesaler," lit. "dealer in quantity," from L.L. grossus "coarse (of food), great, gross" (see gross). Sense of "a merchant selling individual items of food" is 16c. Grocery "a grocer's shop" is 1828, Amer.Eng. Self-service groceries were a novelty in 1913 when a Montana, U.S., firm copyrighted the word groceteria (with the ending from cafeteria used in an un-etymological sense) to name them. The term existed through the 1920s.
grog: 1770 (implied in groggy "intoxicated"), supposedly an allusion to Old Grog, nickname of Edward Vernon (1684-1757), British admiral who wore a grogram (q.v.) cloak and who in August 1740 ordered his sailors' rum to be diluted. George Washington's older half-brother Lawrence served under Vernon in the Carribean and renamed the family's Hunting Creek Plantation in Virginia for him in 1740, calling it Mount Vernon.
groggy: 1770, "drunk," from grog + -y (2). Non-alcoholic meaning "shaky, tottering" is from 1832, originally from the fight ring.
grogram: 1562, from M.Fr. gros grain "coarse grain or texture."
groin: 1592, from M.E. grynde "groin" (c.1400), originally "depression in the ground," from O.E. grynde "abyss," perhaps also "depression, hollow," from P.Gmc. *grundus (see ground). Altered 16c. by influence of loin. The architectural groin "edge formed by the intersection of two vaults" is from 1725.
grok: "to understand empathically," 1961, arbitrary formation by U.S. science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, in his book "Stranger in a Strange Land." In use 1960s, perhaps obsolete now except in internet technology circles.
grommet: 1626, "ring or wreath of rope," from Fr. gromette "curb of a bridle," from gourmer "to curb," of uncertain origin. Extended sense of "metal eyelet" first recorded 1769.
groom (1): early 13c., grome "male child, boy, youth." No known cognates in other Germanic languages. Perhaps from O.E. *groma, related to growan "grow;" or from O.Fr. grommet "servant" (cf. M.E. gromet "ship's boy," early 13c.). The fact is, it appeared 13c. and nobody knows from whence. Meaning "male servant who attends to horses" is from 1660s. The verb is first attested 1809; the transferred sense of "to tidy (oneself) up" is from 1843; figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics.
groom (2): husband-to-be at a wedding, 1604, short for bridegroom (q.v.), from O.E. guma "man."
groove: c.1400, from O.N. grod "pit," or M.Du. groeve "furrow, ditch," from P.Gmc. *grobo (cf. O.N. grof "brook, river bed," O.H.G. gruoba "ditch," Goth. groba "pit, cave," O.E. græf "ditch"), related to grave (n.). Sense of "long, narrow channel or furrow" is 1659. Meaning "spiral cut in a phonograph record" is from 1902. Fig. sense of "routine" is from 1842, often depreciatory at first, "a rut." Adj. groovy is 1853 in lit. sense of "of a groove;" 1937 in slang sense of "excellent," from jazz slang phrase in the groove (1932) "performing well (without grandstanding)." As teen slang for "wonderful," it dates from 1944; popularized 1960s, out of currency by 1980.