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griev·ous

(grēvəs)

adj.

1. Causing grief, pain, or anguish: a grievous loss.

2. Serious or dire; grave: a grievous crime.

[Anglo-Norman grevous, from grever, to harm, aggrieve, from Latin gravāre, to burden; see GRIEVE.]

grievous·ly adv.

grievous·ness n.

Usage Note: The pronunciation of grievous with three syllables as (grēvē-əs), written as though there were an extra i in the spelling of the word, is commonly heard but is roundly criticized as a mispronunciation. Ninety percent of the Usage Panel in 2005 found the three-syllable pronunciation to be unacceptable.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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