grazed
UK[ɡreɪzd]US[ɡreɪzd]
v
(of animals) to eat grass that is growing in a field
v
to injure your skin by rubbing it against something rough
v
to touch something lightly while passing it
Morpheme Breakdown
graze
d
graze
to feed on grass
d
past tense suffix
Etymology
the verb 'graze' originates from the old english 'grasian', meaning 'to feed on grass', which is derived from 'græs', the old english word for grass. this, in turn, traces back to the proto-germanic 'grasan', connected to the act of growing or greenery. the core semantic link between feeding on pasture and lightly touching or scraping developed later, likely from the image of an animal's mouth lightly skimming the tops of grasses or from a glancing blow that similarly 'skims' a surface. the '-ed' suffix is the standard english marker for the past tense, appended directly to the base form 'graze' to indicate the action occurred in the past.
Analysis
Structure: graze (to feed on grass) + d (past tense suffix)
graze (from old english 'grasian', meaning 'to feed on grass', of germanic origin; the verb base). d (a common english inflectional suffix indicating past tense or past participle, from proto-germanic).
Examples
the cattle grazed peacefully in the meadow.
she fell off her bike and grazed her knee.
the bullet grazed the wall before embedding itself in a tree.