Grocery
/ˈɡroʊ.sər.i/noun
Food and other household goods sold by a grocer or grocery store.
Did you know?A medieval grocer often dealt in imported luxury goods such as spices, sugar, and preserved foods before the word became associated with ordinary household shopping.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*grǝh₂-
“A reconstructed root associated with growing large or becoming thick; its exact relationship to later Latin grossus is debated.”
Classical Latin
Latin
grossus
“Thick, bulky, coarse, or large.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
grossus
“Large or wholesale, especially in contrast with individual retail units.”
13th Century
Old French
grosier
“A wholesale dealer, particularly one trading in bulk goods.”
14th Century
Middle English
grocer
“A merchant dealing in spices and other goods bought or sold wholesale.”
15th Century
English
grocery
“Goods sold by a grocer; later, a shop or trade dealing in such goods.”
Modern English
English
grocery
“Food and household goods, or a store that sells them.”