grief

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.

The word carried the sense of heaviness and sadness across Latin, French, and Middle English before settling into the English noun we use today.

Grief is a doublet of grave, both descending from Latin gravis — so weightiness and sorrow share the same ancient root.