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groom

(grm, grm)

1. A person employed to take care of horses or a stable.

2. A man who is about to be married or has recently been married.

3. One of several officers in an English royal household.

4. Archaic

a. A man.

b. A male servant.

v. groomed, groom·ing, grooms

v.tr.

1. To care for the appearance of; to make neat and trim: groomed himself carefully in front of the mirror.

2. To clean and brush (an animal).

3. To remove dirt and parasites from the skin, fur, or feathers of (another animal).

4. To prepare, as for a specific position or purpose: groom an employee for advancement.

5. Sports To prepare (terrain) for participants in a sport, as by packing down new snow and leveling moguls for skiers.

v.intr.

To care for one's appearance.

[Middle English grom. N., sense 2, short for BRIDEGROOM.]

groomer n.

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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