Groat
/ɡroʊt/noun
A former English silver coin worth four pence, or a coarse-ground meal.
Did you know?Groat comes from the same ancient root as great, so a humble coin and a word for greatness are secretly kin through the idea of largeness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵreh₂-
“to grow, become large”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*grōtaz
“large, great”
Old English
OE
grēat
“large, thick, coarse”
Middle English
ME
grote
“a small silver coin; also coarse meal”
Early Modern English
English
groat
“a four-penny coin; later, coarse ground grain”