great-grandfather

[greyt-gran-fah-ther, -grand-]

noun

1. a grandfather of one's father or mother.

Word History and Origins

Origin of great-grandfather¹

First recorded in 1505–15

When To Use

What does great-grandfather mean?

A great-grandfather is the father of a person’s grandparent (the grandfather of a person’s parent).When a father’s child has their own children, that father becomes a grandfather. When those children have their own children, he becomes a great-grandfather.Should great-grandfather be capitalized?Great-grandfather should be capitalized when it’s used as a proper name, as in Please tell Great-grandfather that I miss him. But great-grandfather does not need to be capitalized when it’s simply used as a way to refer to him, as in Please tell my great-grandfather that I miss him. Example: My kids were lucky enough to get to know three of their great-grandfathers.