gran

[ gran ]

noun

, Informal.

1. grandmother.

gran

/ ɡræn /

noun

1. See grandmother
   an informal word for grandmother

Word History and Origins

Origin of gran¹

First recorded in 1860–65; by shortening

Example Sentences

Dubbed the Gran Risa, it’s a steep, twisty slope considered one of the Alpine tour’s toughest.

From Outside Online

The real star of Gran Turismo 7 will be PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, with haptic feedback and adaptive trigger features that should make the “real driving simulator” pretty darn lifelike.

From Time

This Gran Fondo in early October is perfectly timed to watch the lush hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway turn red and gold.

From Outside Online

Attempts to export shale oil and gas, for example, have run smack into legal and regulatory barriers as old as a Gran Torino.

From The Daily Beast

Or perhaps you recognize him from Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Torino, or Invictus.

From The Daily Beast

But Eastwood is also loved by young voters who remember him in Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino.

From The Daily Beast

The Gran Torino is a dinosaur, and so is Walt Koslowski (Eastwood).

From The Daily Beast

This may explain why Warner Bros and Sony, in addition to Paramount, are pursuing the strategy for Seven Pounds and Gran Torino.

From The Daily Beast

He's very tall an' gran', an' w'ars fine close, an' han's is white as a cotton bat, but his eyes doan set right in his head.

From Project Gutenberg

He did come,—a big, gran' man, wid a look which made me glad Miss Dory was in heaven 'stead of livin' wid him.

From Project Gutenberg

To Mildred he was one of that numerous army of brevet relations known as gran-pop, pop, or uncle.

From Project Gutenberg

"Ay, an' it's a gran' price for onybody wha kens aboot it," said auld Jamie Lauder.

From Project Gutenberg

"It's an awfu' gran' book, Rob," she would say after a time, while she strove to subdue the sobs in her breast.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Gran

What does gran mean?

Gran is an informal word for grandmother—the 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. 

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. 

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

Where does gran 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?

• granny
• grandma
• grandmamma
• nana
• grandmother

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

• grandparent
• gramps

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

• grandchildren
• love
• kindness
• spoil
• special
• care
• family
• patriarch

How is gran 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.

My Gran spoils me so much. What a gem🥺

— 🦋 (@Lethabo_S1) August 4, 2020

If only my gran knew how much she influenced my achievements. Doing my wee women proud 👩🏽‍⚕️💗

— H A Y L E Y (@nisbet_hayley) August 4, 2020

The pain of losing a parent never really goes away, even with time. My mom really misses my gran, who passed away just when I was about to turn 1, 22 years ago. This whole week she was listening to their favorite music and she’d just have random moments akhale. 💔

— LALA (@__Ayabulela) August 3, 2020

 

 

Try using gran!

Is gran used correctly in the following sentence?

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