grief
GREEF · noun
Origin
Grief comes from Middle English greef or gref, from Old French grief, meaning grave, heavy, grievous, or sad, which traces back to Latin gravis, meaning heavy or grievous.
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Journey
The word carried the sense of heaviness and sadness across Latin, French, and Middle English before settling into the English noun we use today.
Related words
Grief is a doublet of grave, both descending from Latin gravis — so weightiness and sorrow share the same ancient root.