PIE*ghrebhの「削る」「掘る」が語源で、語源的にはcarveやgraphと同じ。 後に主に墓を指すようになった。
墓PIE*gwere、重い、気圧計、グル、重力から。音楽用語で使われる。
"The normal mod. representation of OE. gr?f would be graff; the ME. disyllable grave, from which the standard mod. form descends, was prob. due to the especially frequent occurrence of the word in the dat. (locative) case. [OED]From Middle Ages to 17c., they were temporary, crudely marked repositories from which the bones were removed to ossuaries after some years and the grave used for a fresh burial. "Perpetual graves" became common from c. 1650. Grave-side (n.) is from 1744. Grave-robber attested from 1757. To make (someone) turn in his grave "behave in some way that would have offended the dead person" is first recorded 1888.