entry
grimoire
/ˈɡrɪmwɑːr/A book of spells, rituals, and magical instructions
From Greek, ultimately Proto-Indo-European gramma (Writing).
from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve”)) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix added to verbal stems forming neuter nouns denoting...
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”)
from French grimoire , altered
+1 more sourcefrom French grimoire , altered
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve”)) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix added to verbal stems forming neuter nouns denoting...
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Latin grammatica (“grammar; philology”)
from Old French gramaire (“grammar; grimoire; conjurer, magician”)
from French grimoire , altered
+1 more sourcefrom French grimoire , altered
+1 more sourcePicture a medieval reader opening a book and finding not merely sentences, but recipes for talismans, diagrams of spirits, and instructions for calling invisible beings by name. The strange twist is that grimoire began near the utterly respectable world of grammar: Greek grámma meant a written mark or letter, from a verb meaning “to scratch” or “carve.” In Old French, gramaire could mean both “grammar” and “grimoire,” because learned books were rare, mysterious objects—and a book of occult knowledge was simply the most alarming kind of learned book. By 1849, English had settled on grimoire for the magician’s manual, while its linguistic cousins split into grammar, gramarye, and glamour. So glamour, now associated with movie-star sparkle, carries a faint ancestral shadow of a carved letter and a spellbook: both begin with the dangerous-looking power of writing things down.
The Story
Picture a medieval reader opening a book and finding not merely sentences, but recipes for talismans, diagrams of spirits, and instructions for calling invisible beings by name. The strange twist is that grimoire began near the utterly respectable world of grammar: Greek grámma meant a written mark or letter, from a verb meaning “to scratch” or “carve.” In Old French, gramaire could mean both “grammar” and “grimoire,” because learned books were rare, mysterious objects—and a book of occult knowledge was simply the most alarming kind of learned book. By 1849, English had settled on grimoire for the magician’s manual, while its linguistic cousins split into grammar, gramarye, and glamour. So glamour, now associated with movie-star sparkle, carries a faint ancestral shadow of a carved letter and a spellbook: both begin with the dangerous-looking power of writing things down.
Modern Usage
A derogatory slang use for a gay or supposedly unmasculine person, documented in Urban Dictionary
Kin & Kindred
From 'gramma'·Writing, a written mark, or letter
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ikos'·Relating to or concerned with
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary