Daily AncestorGrandfather
A grandfather is the father of your father or mother; grandsire is an older word for the same man.
Grandfather means a parent's father. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it as the next degree above the father or mother in the direct line. Paternal grandfather means the father's father; maternal grandfather means the mother's father.
The old word grandsire meant a grandfather, and in poetry or high style it could mean any male ancestor. So a grandsire named in an old memorial or verse is not always exactly two generations back.
As seen in a recordBequest in a will, 1830s
to my grandson Asa Quimbly, the Bible that was his grandfather's
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Grandfather." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/relationships/grandfather. Last checked 2026-10-12.