grave

grave

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of grave in English

English Online Dictionary. What means grave‎? What does grave mean?

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: grāv, IPA(key): /ɡɹeɪv/
    • Rhymes: -eɪv
  • (accent, also): IPA(key): /ɡɹɑːv/
    • Rhymes: -ɑːv

Etymology 1

From Middle English grave, grafe, from Old English græf, grafu (“cave, grave, trench”), from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō (“grave, trench, ditch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with West Frisian grêf (“grave”), Dutch graf (“grave”), Low German Graf (“a grave”), Graff, German Grab (“grave”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian grav (“grave”), Icelandic gröf (“grave”). Related to groove.

Noun

grave (countable and uncountable, plural graves)

  1. (strictly) An excavation in the earth as a place of burial.
    Synonyms: plot; see also Thesaurus:grave
  2. (broadly) Any place of interment; a tomb; a sepulcher.
  3. (very broadly) Any place containing one or more corpses.
  4. (uncountable, by extension) Death, destruction.
  5. (by extension, uncountable) Deceased people; the dead.
Derived terms
Related terms
  • groove
Descendants
  • Sranan Tongo: grebi
    • Aukan: geebi
Translations
See also
  • grave (burial) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

From Middle English graven, from Old English grafan (“to dig, dig up, grave, engrave, carve, chisel”), from Proto-Germanic *grabaną (“to dig”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Dutch graven (“to dig”), German graben (“to dig”), Danish grave (“to dig”), Swedish gräva (“to dig”), Icelandic grafa (“to dig”).

Verb

grave (third-person singular simple present graves, present participle graving, simple past graved, past participle graved or graven)

  1. (transitive, obsolete) To dig.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To carve or cut, as letters or figures, on some hard substance; to engrave.
    • a. 1894, Robert Louis Stevenson, "Requiem"
      This be the verse you grave for me / "Here he lies where he longs to be"
  3. (transitive, obsolete) To carve out or give shape to, by cutting with a chisel; to sculpture.
  4. (intransitive, obsolete) To impress deeply (on the mind); to fix indelibly.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To entomb; to bury.
  6. (intransitive, obsolete) To write or delineate on hard substances, by means of incised lines; to practice engraving.
Related terms
  • begrave
  • engrave
Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle French grave, a learned borrowing from Latin gravis (“heavy, important”). Compare Old French greve (“terrible, dreadful”). Doublet of grief.

Adjective

grave (comparative graver, superlative gravest)

  1. Characterised by a dignified sense of seriousness; not cheerful. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: austere, solemn, sombre; see also Thesaurus:serious
  2. Low in pitch, tone etc. [from 17th c.]
    Antonyms: acute, deep, flat, low-pitched
  3. Serious, in a negative sense; important, formidable. [from 19th c.]
    Synonyms: serious, momentous, important; see also Thesaurus:important
  4. (phonology, dated, of a sound) Dull, produced in the middle or back of the mouth. (See Grave and acute on Wikipedia.Wikipedia )
    Coordinate term: acute
  5. (obsolete) Influential, important; authoritative. [16th–18th c.]
    Synonyms: magisterial, masterful, oracular, sterling
Derived terms
  • grave as a judge
Translations

Noun

grave (plural graves)

  1. A grave accent.
Translations

Etymology 4

Inherited from Middle English greyve. Doublet of graaf (borrowed from the Dutch cognate graaf (“count, earl”)) and graf (borrowed from the German cognate Graf (“count, earl”)).

Noun

grave (plural graves)

  1. (historical) A count, prefect, or person holding office.
Related terms
  • burgrave
  • landgrave
  • margrave
  • palsgrave
  • waldgrave

Etymology 5

Verb

grave (third-person singular simple present graves, present participle graving, simple past and past participle graved)

  1. (transitive, obsolete, nautical) To clean, as a vessel's bottom, of barnacles, grass, etc., and pay it over with pitch — so called because graves or greaves was formerly used for this purpose.
Related terms
  • graving dock

Anagrams

  • Gaver

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡraːvə/, [ˈɡ̊ʁɑːvə]

Etymology 1

From Italian grave, from Latin gravis (“heavy, grave”).

Adverb

grave

  1. (music) grave (low in pitch, tone etc.)
  2. accent grave – accent grave, grave accent

Etymology 2

From Old Norse grafa (“to dig, bury”), from Proto-Germanic *grabaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”).

Verb

grave (imperative grav, infinitive at grave, present tense graver, past tense gravede, perfect tense har gravet)

  1. dig (to move hard-packed earth out of the way)
Derived terms

Etymology 3

See grav (“grave, tomb, pit”).

Noun

grave c

  1. indefinite plural of grav

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɣraː.və/
  • Hyphenation: gra‧ve
  • Rhymes: -aːvə
  • Homophone: Grave

Verb

grave

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of graven

Anagrams

  • verga, vrage

Esperanto

Adverb

grave

  1. seriously, gravely

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡʁav/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French grave, borrowed from Latin gravis. Doublet of grief.

Adjective

grave (plural graves)

  1. serious
  2. solemn
  3. low-pitched
    Antonym: aigu
  4. (phonetics) back
Derived terms
  • accent grave
  • gravement
  • l’heure est grave
Related terms
  • gravissime
  • gravitation
  • gravité
Descendants
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: grave

Adverb

grave

  1. (informal, slang) much; a lot

Etymology 2

Verb

grave

  1. inflection of graver:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

  • “grave”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

  • gaver

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin gravis. Doublet of greve.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡra.ve/
  • Rhymes: -ave
  • Hyphenation: grà‧ve

Adjective

grave (plural gravi, superlative gravissimo)

  1. grave, serious
  2. heavy
  3. solemn
  4. (music) low-pitched, low-pitch

Synonyms

  • importante
  • pesante
  • austero
  • serio

Antonyms

  • acuto

Related terms

  • gravemente
  • gravare
  • gravezza
  • gravità
  • gravoso

Descendants

  • → Danish: grave

Anagrams

  • Verga, verga

Latin

Adjective

grave

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of gravis

References

  • "grave", in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • grave in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • "grave", in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎[4]

Middle English

Etymology 1

From the dative of Old English græf, from Proto-West Germanic *grab, from Proto-Germanic *grabą.

Alternative forms

  • graf, grafe, graffe, grawe

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡraːv(ə)/, /ˈɡrav(ə)/, /ˈɡraf/

Noun

grave (plural graves)

  1. grave, burial
  2. tomb, mausoleum
Derived terms
  • graven
  • graveston
Descendants
  • English: grave
  • Scots: grave, grawe, graive, graiwe, greawe
References
  • “grāve, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-09.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡraːvɛi̯/, /ˈɡraːveː/

Noun

grave (plural graves)

  1. Alternative form of gravey

Etymology 3

Noun

grave

  1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of greyve

Etymology 4

Noun

grave

  1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of grove

Etymology 5

Verb

grave

  1. Alternative form of graven

Middle French

Alternative forms

  • greve

Etymology

From Old French grave.

Noun

grave f (plural graves)

  1. gravel

Descendants

  • French: grave
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: grave

References

  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (grave)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German grāfo, grāvo, grāfio, grāvio (“count, local judge”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (before 13th CE) /ˈɡraːvə/, /ˈɡraːfə/

Noun

grāve m

  1. count, local judge

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

  • German: Graf

References

  • “grâve” Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Wilhelm Müller, and Friedrich Zarncke. Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke. Vol. 1. S. Hirzel, 1863.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse grafa, from Proto-Germanic *grabaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrābʰ- (“to dig, scratch, scrape”).

Verb

grave (imperative grav, present tense graver, passive graves, simple past gravde or grov, past participle gravd, present participle gravende)

  1. to dig
    grave ut ― to excavate

Etymology 2

From French grave (“serious, low-pitched; back”), from Middle French grave, from Old French grave, from Latin gravis (“heavy, grave, serious”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”), from *gʷreh₂- (“heavy”) + *-us (forms adjectives).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡrɑːʋ/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːʋ
  • Hyphenation: grave
  • Homophone: grav

Noun

grave m (definite singular graven, indefinite plural graver, definite plural gravene)

  1. Only used in accent grave (“grave accent”)

References

  • “grave” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
  • “grave” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

grave (present tense grev, past tense grov, past participle grave, passive infinitive gravast, present participle gravande, imperative grav)

  1. Alternative form of grava

Derived terms

  • gullgraving
  • utgraving

Old French

Alternative forms

  • greve

Etymology

Medieval Latin grava, from Gaulish *grawa, *growa, from Proto-Celtic *grāwā, related to Cornish grow (“gravel”), Breton grouan, and Welsh gro (“gravel”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰr-eu-d-.

Noun

grave oblique singular, f (oblique plural graves, nominative singular grave, nominative plural graves)

  1. gravel

Descendants

  • Middle French: grave
    • French: grave
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: grave
  • ⇒ Old French: gravele
    • Middle French: gravelle, gravele
    • → Middle English: grauel
      • English: gravel

References

  • Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (grave)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: (Brazil) -avi, (Portugal) -avɨ
  • Hyphenation: gra‧ve

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese grave, from Latin gravis (“heavy; grave”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us.

Adjective

grave m or f (plural graves, comparable, comparative mais grave, superlative o mais grave or gravíssimo)

  2. serious; grave (having possible severe negative consequences)
    Synonyms: sério, severo
  4. (of sound) low-pitched; grave (low in pitch or tone)
    Synonym: baixo
    Antonym: agudo
  6. grave; serious; sombre; austere; solemn (characterised by a dignified sense of seriousness)
    Synonyms: sério, austero, circunspecto, sisudo, solene
  8. (physics) that falls down; that doesn’t float
Derived terms
  • gravemente

Noun

grave m (plural graves)

  1. (music) a low-pitched note
  2. (physics) a body that falls down

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

grave

  1. inflection of gravar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Italian grave.

Adjective

grave

  1. inflection of grav:
    1. genitive/dative feminine singular/plural
    2. nominative/accusative neuter plural

Adverb

grave

  1. grave

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡɾabe/ [ˈɡɾa.β̞e]
  • Rhymes: -abe
  • Syllabification: gra‧ve
  • Homophone: grabe

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish grave, from Latin gravis. Cf. also the attested Old Spanish form grieve, from Early Medieval Latin grevis, which was more common in other Romance-speaking areas.

Adjective

grave m or f (masculine and feminine plural graves, superlative gravísimo)

  1. serious, grave
    Synonym: serio
  2. bass (sound)
    Synonym: bajo
    Antonym: agudo
  3. solemn
    Synonym: solemne
  4. (phonetics) paroxytone; stressed in the penultimate syllable
    Synonym: llano
    Coordinate terms: agudo, esdrújulo, sobresdrújulo
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
  • → Tagalog: grabe

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

grave

  1. inflection of gravar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

  • “grave”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

References

Anagrams

  • verga

Swedish

Adjective

grave

  1. definite natural masculine singular of grav

Anagrams

  • avger

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian grava, from Proto-West Germanic *graban, from Proto-Germanic *grabaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡraːvə/

Verb

grave

  1. to dig

Inflection

Further reading

  • “grave”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

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