grandfather

Definition

A father of someone's parent.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English grandfadre, graundfadir, graunfadir, grauntfader, and other forms, from graunt (“big, large; great, important”) + fā̆der (“male parent, father; remoter male ancestor”), probably modelled after Middle French grandpere, grant pere (“male parent; remoter male ancestor”) (whence French grand-père); the English word is analysable as grand- + father. Superseded earlier eldfather, elderfather. The verb is derived from the noun.

Example Sentences

• "Grandfather, Father, and Son. The Father diſſeiſeth the Grandfather and dies, the Son endows the Mother, the Grandfather dies, the Son may enter upon the Mother; for he hath a new Right deſcended to him from the Grandfather, for the Grandfather might have entred upon the Mother, ſo ſhall his Heir."
• "Lineal conſanguinity is that which ſubſists between perſons, of whom one is deſcended in a direct line from the other: as between John Stiles (the propoſitus in the table of conſanguinity) and his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and ſo upwards in the direct aſcending line; or between John Stiles and his ſon, grandſon, great-grandſon, and ſo downwards in the direct deſcending line."
• "One circumſtance […] peculiar to the Germanic empire, is the diſtinction between its mediate and immediate members. In the ſame manner as two objects which we may ſuppose to have relation to each other, are immediately related, when there is no third object intervening, but otherwiſe only mediate. This may be illuſtrated by the example of the connexion between a grandfather and his children, who may be ſaid to be mediately related; while the relation between the parents and children, on the contrary, is immediate; […]"