noun
Freq #15515
Meanings
-
1
noun
the grandfather of one of your parents; the father of a grandparent
Her great-grandfather kept a journal describing his journey across the country.
Thesaurus
Word family
Derived forms
great-granddaughtergreat-grandparentgreat-grandson
Etymology
From great- in the genealogical sense 'one generation further removed' + grandfather. English has used great- to extend kinship terms beyond grandparents since the fifteenth century.