Words related to gross
"remaining after deductions," early 15c., from earlier sense of "trim, elegant, clean, neat" (c. 1300), from Old French net, nette "clean, pure, unadulterated," from Latin nitere "to shine, look bright, glitter" (see neat (adj.)). Meaning influenced by Italian netto "remaining after deductions." As a noun, "what remains after deductions," by 1910. The notion is "clear of anything extraneous."
Net profit is "what remains as the clear gain of any business adventure, after deducting the capital invested in the business, the expenses incurred in its management, and the losses sustained by its operation" [Century Dictionary]. Net weight is the weight of merchandise after allowance has been made for casks, bags, cases, or other containers.
early 15c., cors "ordinary" (modern spelling is from late 16c.), probably adjectival use of noun cours (see course (n.)). Originally referring to rough cloth for ordinary wear, the sense of "rude, vulgar, unpolished" developed by c. 1500 and that of "obscene" by 1711.
Perhaps via the notion of "in regular or natural order," hence "common, vulgar" (compare the development of mean (adj.), also ornery from ordinary). Or it might be via the clothing sense, and the notion of "wanting fineness of texture or elegance of form." Or both, and there might be also an influence, via metathesis, of French gros (see gross (adj.)), which underwent a similar sense development. Related: Coarsely; coarseness.
c. 1400, "to buy up the whole stock of" (in Anglo-French from c. 1300), from Old French en gros "in bulk, in a large quantity, at wholesale," as opposed to en detail. See gross.
Figurative sense of "absorb the whole attention" is first attested 1709. A parallel engross, meaning "to write (something) in large letters," is from Anglo-French engrosser, from Old French en gros "in large (letters)." Related: Engrossed; engrossing.
early 15c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "wholesale dealer, one who buys and sells in gross," corrupted spelling of Anglo-French grosser, Old French grossier, from Medieval Latin grossarius "wholesaler," literally "dealer in quantity" (source also of Spanish grosero, Italian grossista), from Late Latin grossus "coarse (of food), great, gross" (see gross (adj.)). Sense of "a merchant selling individual items of food" is 16c.; in Middle English this was a spicer.
