genealogy - great or grand

[Thelma Sanders]

the online Dictionary thinks they are the same thing

great-aunt or great aunt (grtnt, -�nt)
n.
A sister of one's grandparent. Also called grand aunt.

[Florence Fennel]

Grates on my nerves all this inane rambling

[veggiechicken]

You not feeling too Grand, Flo Hope you have a Great weekend!

[Florence Fennel]

Could do with winning one VC

[Alison]

I'm defo a great aunt to my niece's two kids, grand just doesn't sound right to me at all and great is just, erm great

[Sheneval]

I'm defo a great aunt to my niece's two kids, grand just doesn't sound right to me at all and great is just, erm great

Over time changes like this in common usage come to be accepted as the norm and that is Great for those who accept the changes but not so Grand for those who stick to the original term

[mothhawk]

It's a throwback to our (great) mongrel parentage, I think. If you're Saxon, (Germanic), the word was great, and if you're Norman (French) the word was grand. Both mean the same. That's why we have so many duplicate words in English that mean much the same thing. Evidently the natives of this land over so many centuries were happy to accept new words, but never going to give away any they'd already got!

[Sheneval]

If that was the case those who use great would call their grandparents greatfather/greatmother - I think it is probably just years of misuse/confusion which has become accepted norm, not unusual

[mothhawk]

If that was the case those who use great would call their grandparents greatfather/greatmother - I think it is probably just years of misuse/confusion which has become accepted norm, not unusual

But that's the point, Shen, most of us English are MONGRELS (a word from medieval English) - a cross between Saxon, Norman, Roman, Celt, Briton, Dutch, Danish, and whoever else you'd care to name, so our language is also a mongrel, we have mixed and matched to suit ourselves over the centuries.

edit - oops, left out Romans, and me a fan of Time Team!

[binley100]

Both my father and mothers surnames originated in Normandy , Id love to actually get back that far with research but don't seem to have time anymore. I find it fascinating....
Also I always thought my dad's cousins were my second cousins but I see from the chart that they're not ....learn something new every day

[Alison]

Over time changes like this in common usage come to be accepted as the norm and that is Great for those who accept the changes but not so Grand for those who stick to the original term

Not totally convinced it's changed (maybe it's a regional thing as never heard of anybody referring to a grand anything apart from parent before) and it's certainly not a recent change, my dad's aunt was always a great aunt to me and my brothers and that was from over 50 years ago and she referred to her parents aunts and uncles as great too so that takes us back another couple of generations

[Sheneval]

I suspect it doesn't really matter except to Genealogists

[Mikey]

If that was the case those who use great would call their grandparents greatfather/greatmother - I think it is probably just years of misuse/confusion which has become accepted norm, not unusual

Its much easier if you are Welsh, your grandparents are mamgi and tadci, and your great grandparents are mami's mamgi... or if you are up north it would be hen nain.... and your aunt is modryb or great aunt would be fodryb mawr, and grand is mawreddog but rarely used actually I think its easier in English.