grevis

Latin

Etymology

Blend of gravis (“heavy”) +‎ levis (“light”). Attested in a glossary written in the eighth century CE.

Adjective

grevis (neuter greve); third-declension two-termination adjective (Early Medieval Latin)

1. heavy
2. difficult

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: greu
  • Romanian: greu
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: greve
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: greve, aggre
• North Italian:
  • Gallo-Italic:
    • Old Ligurian: greve
    • Old Lombard: greve
      • Lombard: grev
    • Piedmontese: greu, grev
  • Friulian: grivi, grevi
  • Ladin: grief
  • Romansch: grev, greav (Sutsilvan), greiv (Puter, Vallader)
  • Venetan: greve, gref, grevo
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: greu
  • Occitan: grèu
  • Old French: grief (see there for further descendants)
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Old Spanish: grieve
• Vulgar Latin: (see there for further descendants)
  • *greviāre
  • *ingrevicāre

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 407: “è pesante” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “gravis”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 4: G H I, page 265