grasshopper (English)

Where does "grasshopper" come from?

The word 'grasshopper' is a literal compound originating from the Old English 'græshoppa', which combined 'græs' (grass) and 'hoppa' (a hopper). This descriptive term has deep Germanic roots, with cognates appearing throughout various North and West Germanic languages like Dutch, German, and Swedish, all highlighting the insect's iconic movement. Over time, the name evolved through Middle English as 'grashoppere' into its modern form, maintaining its clear etymological connection to the nature of the creature.

Full etymology tree

• grasshopper (English), 'A mostly herbivorous insect of the order Orthoptera, noted for its ability to jump long distances and for the habit of some species communicating by stridulation; they are related to but distinct from crickets.'
  • inherited grashoppere (Middle English), 'alternative form of gressehopper'
    • derived grashoppe (Middle English), 'alternative form of grashope'
      • inherited græshoppa (Old English), 'grasshopper, locust'
        • compound græs (Old English), 'grass'
          • inherited *gras (Proto-West Germanic), 'grass'
            • inherited *grasą (Proto-Germanic), 'grass'
              • inherited *gʰreh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grow (of plants?)'
        • compound *hoppa (Old English), 'agent noun of hoppian'
          • derived hoppian (Old English), 'to hop'
            • inherited *huppōn (Proto-West Germanic)
              • inherited *huppōną (Proto-Germanic), 'to move up and down; hop'
                • inherited *kewb- (Proto-Indo-European)

Direct ancestors

• grashoppere (Middle English)
• græshoppa (Old English)
• grass (English)
• hopper (English)
• Grashüpfer (German)
• græshoppe (Danish)
• gräshoppa (Swedish)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris