great-great
UK[ˌɡreɪt ˈɡreɪt]US[ˌɡreɪt ˈɡreɪt]
adj
Used to indicate a relationship two generations removed, typically in terms of ancestry.
Morpheme Breakdown
great
great
great
great
Etymology
The word 'great-great' is a reduplication of the adjective 'great', employed in a specific genealogical context. The original Old English term 'grēat' meant 'coarse, thick, or massive', but its meaning expanded over time to signify 'large in size' and then 'important or eminent'. In family terminology, 'great-' was adopted as a prefix to denote one degree of separation from a core relationship (e.g., grandparent). The reduplicated form 'great-great-' logically extends this pattern to indicate two degrees of removal, creating a compound that is semantically transparent yet formally distinct. This construction illustrates how a word's core concept of 'largeness' or 'extension' can be systematically grammaticalized to express relational distance within a kinship system.
Analysis
Structure: great + great
great: From Old English 'grēat' (coarse, thick, massive), of Germanic origin. In this context, it functions as a relational prefix indicating a degree of removal in genealogy.
great: From Old English 'grēat' (coarse, thick, massive), of Germanic origin. In this context, it functions as a relational prefix indicating a degree of removal in genealogy.
Examples
She is researching her great-great-grandmother who immigrated in the 19th century.
The heirloom has been passed down through five generations, from my great-great-grandfather to me.
In the family tree, I found I was a direct descendant of a great-great-uncle of the famous author.