grooming
UK[ˈɡruːmɪŋ]US[ˈɡruːmɪŋ]
n
the things that you do to make your appearance clean and neat, for example brushing your hair, or the things that you do to an animal to keep its fur or hair clean and neat
n
the criminal activity of becoming friends with a child, especially over the internet, in order to try to persuade the child to have a sexual relationship
Morpheme Breakdown
groom
ing
groom
to make neat and clean
ing
noun suffix
Etymology
the word 'grooming' originates from the middle english noun 'grom', meaning a young man or male servant, whose duties often included tending to horses. by the 19th century, 'groom' had verbified to mean the specific act of cleaning and brushing a horse. this sense of attentive care and preparation was then metaphorically extended to human personal care and neatness in the early 20th century. the modern, more sinister meaning related to predatory behavior emerged in the late 20th century, drawing on the metaphor of the perpetrator carefully preparing or manipulating a victim. thus, the core concept evolved from a servant's duty, to animal care, to personal hygiene, and finally to a calculated process of exploitation.
Analysis
Structure: groom (to make neat and clean) + ing (noun suffix)
groom: from middle english 'grom' (boy, male servant), of unknown origin. in this word, it functions as the base verb meaning to make neat or care for appearance.
ing: from old english '-ung', '-ing', a suffix forming nouns from verbs, indicating the action or process.
Examples
daily grooming is an important part of his routine.
the dog enjoys its weekly brushing and grooming at the pet salon.
the police arrested the man on charges of online grooming of a minor.