Grooming
/ˈɡruːmɪŋ/noun
The act of cleaning, arranging, or caring for a person, animal, or oneself; also, the process of preparing someone for a role or purpose.
Did you know?The modern sense of grooming grew out of an older word for a manservant, so the word’s history quietly carries class, labor, and transformation in one package.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gromaz
“boy, servant, young man”
Middle English
English
grom
“boy, lad, servant”
15th Century
English
grome
“male servant; also a person who tends horses”
17th Century
English
groom
“a man who attends to horses or performs personal service”
18th–19th Century
English
grooming
“the act of cleaning or tending, especially of horses and later of people”