grateful
/ˈɡreɪt.fəl/
adjective
Origin
Latin
gratus — pleasing, thankful
Overview
Meaning Now
- feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.
- giving pleasure or satisfaction; pleasant or welcome.
Literal older meaning
full of grace
Language path
Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
grateful
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The spelling 'grateful' was influenced by the Latin 'gratus'. Some earlier writers mistakenly linked it to 'great', leading to the spelling 'greatful' in the 16th and 17th centuries, though 'grateful' eventually became the standard form.
Evolution
- Latin
gratus
“pleasing, thankful”
- Old French
grat
“pleasant, agreeable”
- Middle English
grate
“pleasing”
- 16th-century English
grateful
“thankful”
Addition of the suffix -ful to the stem grate.
Connections
Word parts
grate
root
pleasing
-ful
suffix
full of
Related across languages
French
agréable
agreeable/pleasant
Italian
grato
grateful
Spanish
grato
pleasant/thankful
Related words
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.