˜yĞÄvlog

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gran

[ gran ]

noun

Informal.


gran

/ É¡°ùæ²Ô /

noun

  1. an informal word for grandmother
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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˜yĞÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of gran1

First recorded in 1860–65; by shortening
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

His gran, Betty Feeney, sparked the Glasgow actor's lifelong love of performance with her stories of seeing Frank Sinatra play in the city.

From

"I was expelled and taken away from all my friends, and it made me really sad – but my gran used to say, 'Keep on keeping on, Thom', and it stuck with me."

From

Hannah, who is just a year older than her late gran was when she died, is receiving her treatment through the NHS.

From

"My gran raised me until my teens, when I went back to my mum. She was clean for a while, but there was no structure or no boundaries."

From

Rachael said he gran was "fully continent" before she went to hospital.

From

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More About Gran

What doesÌıgran mean?

Gran is an informal word for grandmother—t³ó±ğ mother of a person’s parent.

The word granny is used in the same way. A similar word for a grandfather is gramps.

Gran should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Gran that I miss her.Ìı

But gran does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to her, as in Please tell my gran that I miss her.Ìı

Example: It doesn’t matter what you call your gran, as long as you call her.

Where doesÌıgran come from?

The first records of the word gran come from the 1800s. The word granny is recorded earlier, in the 1600s. In words like grandmother and grandma, the d is often unpronounced, making them sound like they start with gran (or gram). The prefix grand- is used in family terms to indicate a person who is one generation removed, as in grandparent and grandchild.

Grandmothers often have special bonds with their grandchildren (who they’re known to spoil with love, affection, and candy). It’s common for grandchildren to refer to their grandmothers with informal names. Grandma is perhaps the most common variant of the word grandmother, but there are many others, including gran, granny, grandmom, gramma, grandmamma, and nana. Many families have their own specific version, such as meemaw and MaMotts.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for gran?

What are some words that share a root or word element with gran?Ìı

What are some words that often get used in discussing gran?

How isÌıgran used in real life?

Gran is one of the many informal variants of the word grandmother. When it’s used as a proper name, Gran should be capitalized.

Ìı

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Try usingÌıgran!

Is gran used correctly in the following sentence?

My gran is 98 years old and is as active as ever.

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