Greave
/ɡriːv/noun
A piece of armor that protects the shin.
Did you know?The word is historically tied to Old French and Latin roots meaning a notch or groove, and its armored sense likely emerged from the idea of a fitted, grooved piece shaped to the leg.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ghrebh-
“To dig, scratch, or carve.”
Latin
Latin
grāphium / grāphāre
“To scratch or write (later influencing a family of carved-mark words through learned borrowing).”
Old French
Old French
greve
“A notch, groove, or cut; later a shin guard or armor for the lower leg.”
Middle English
English
greve
“A piece of armor covering the shin.”
Modern English
English
greave
“Armor for the shin.”