Sand | Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Sand By Etymonline

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Origin and history of sand

sand(n.)

"water-worn detritus finer than gravel; fine particles of rocks (largely crystalline rocks, especially quartz); the material of the beach, desert, or sea-bed;" Old English sand, from Proto-Germanic *sandam (source also of Old Norse sandr, Old Frisian sond, Middle Dutch sant, Dutch zand, German Sand), cognate with Greek psammos "sand;" Latin sabulum "coarse sand" (which is the source of Italian sabbia, French sable). This was said to be from a suffixed form of a PIE root *bhes- "to rub," but de Vaan says the Latin is from a substrate word and Beekes suggests for the origin of psammos "Pre-Greek *sam- 'sand, mud'."

Historically, the line between sand and gravel was not distinct. A general Germanic word but it is not attested in Gothic, which used in this sense malma, related to Old High German melm "dust" and the first element of the Swedish city name Malmö (the second element meaning "island"), and to Latin molere "to grind."

Sand has been a figure of innumerability or instability since Old English. In compounds, often it indicates "of the shore, found on sandy beaches." The old U.S. colloquial sense of "grit, endurance, pluck" is by 1867, especially in have sand in (one's) craw. Sands "tract or region composed of sand," is by mid-15c.

sand(v.)

late 14c., "to sprinkle with sand," from sand (n.); from 1620s as "to bury or fill in with sand." Meaning "to grind or polish with sand" is from 1858. Related: Sanded; sanding.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to sand

gravel(n.)

"stone in small, irregular fragments," early 13c., from Old French gravele "sand, gravel; sea-shore; sandy bed of a river," diminutive of grave "sand, seashore" (Modern French grève), possibly from Celtic *graw- (compare Welsh gro "coarse gravel," Breton grouan, Cornish grow "gravel"), perhaps ultimately from PIE *ghreu- "to rub, grind" (see grit (n.)). Gravel-crusher was World War I slang for "infantryman."

psammite(n.)

"sandstone," by 1817, from Greek psammos "sand" (see sand (n.)) + -ite (1). Related: Psammitic.

• quicksand
• sabulous
• sandbag
• sand-bank
• sandbar
• sand-blast
• sandbox
• sand-castle
• sand-dollar
• sand-dune
• sanderling
• sand-fly
• sand-grass
• sand-hill
• sand-lot
• sandman
• sandpaper
• sandpiper
• See All Related Words (27)

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Trends of sand

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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sanderling"three-toed sandpipe," a wading bird (Crocethia alba) found on sandy beaches worldwide, c. 1600, probably from sand (n.) + diminutive suffix -ling, but OED suggests possible derivation from Old English *sand-yrðling, with second element yrðling "plowman" (literally "earthling"), sand-lot"plot of empty land in a town or suburb," by 1878, from sand (n.) + lot. As an adjective in reference to the kind of sports or games played on sand-lots by amateurs, it is recorded from 1890 in American English. Earlier it had reference to socialism or communism based on the polisandmanfabulous person who brings sleep in nursery lore, 1861, from sand (n.), probably in reference to hard grains found in the eyelashes on waking, or the rubbing of tired eyes as if to clear them of grit. First attested in English in a translation from the Norwegian of Andersen (his arenaplace of combat," from Latin harena "place of combat, enclosed space in the middle of Roman amphitheaters," originally "sand..., sandy place" (source also of Spanish arena, Italian rena, French arène "sand"), a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from...The central stages of Roman amphitheaters were strewn with sand to soak up the blood....heapOne grain of sand does not make a heap. A second grain of sand added to the first does not make a heap....Indeed each and every grain of sand, when added to the others, does not make a heap which was not a heap before....Therefore, all the grains of sand in existence can still not a heap make....sandblindalso sand-blind, "half-blind, partially blind, dim-sighted," c. 1400, probably altered (by influence of unrelated sand (n...abacuslate 14c., "sand table for drawing, calculating, etc.," also "art of calculating with an abacus," from Latin abacus, from...It is said to be from a Semitic source, such as Phoenician or Hebrew abaq "sand strewn on a surface for writing," literally...Originally a drawing board covered with dust or sand on which mathematical equations or calculations could be traced and...moxie"courage," 1930, from Moxie, brand name of a bitter, non-alcoholic drink, 1885, perhaps as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to "build up your nerve." Despite legendary origin stories put out by the company that made it, it is perhaps ultimately from a smooth"having a uniform surface, not rough," a Middle English form, from Old English smoð, a variant of smeðe "free from roughness, not harsh, polished; soft; suave; agreeable," which is of unknown origin and has no known cognates. The usual form in early Middle English was smeeth, butconcretelate 14c., "actual, solid; particular, individual; denoting a substance," from Latin concretus "condensed, hardened, stiff, curdled, congealed, clotted," figuratively "thick; dim," literally "grown together;" past participle of concrescere "to grow together," from assimilated for

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/sandCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/sand">Etymology of sand by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of sand. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 22, 2025, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/sandCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of sand," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed December 22, 2025, https://www.etymonline.com/word/sand.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of sand." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/sand. Accessed 22 December, 2025.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of sand." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/sand (accessed December 22, 2025).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near sand

• sanctitude
• sanctity
• sanctuary
• sanctum
• Sanctus
• sand
• sandal
• sandalwood
• sandbag
• sand-bank
• sandbar

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