groove

English

Etymology

From Middle English grov, grove, groof, grofe (“cave; pit; mining shaft”), from Old English *grōf (“trench, furrow, something dug”), from Proto-Germanic *grōbō (“groove, furrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scrape, bury”). Cognate with Dutch groef, groeve (“groove; pit, grave”), German Grube (“ditch, pit”), Norwegian grov (“brook, riverbed”), Serbo-Croatian grèbati (“scratch, dig”). Directly descended from Old English grafan (“to dig”). More at grave.

grooves on a vinyl record

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɡɹʊuv/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɡɹuv/
• Rhymes: -uːv

Noun

groove (plural grooves)

1. A long, narrow channel or depression; e.g., such a slot cut into a hard material to provide a location for an engineering component, a tyre groove, or a geological channel or depression.
2. A fixed routine.
   • (Can we date this quote?) J. Morley

     The gregarious trifling of life in the social groove.

   • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House

     Through these distresses, the Odd Girl was cheerful and exemplary. But within four hours after dark we had got into a supernatural groove, and the Odd Girl had seen “Eyes,” and was in hysterics.

   • 2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1 - 0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport^[1]:

     His counterpart Neil Warnock got his tactics spot on as Chelsea struggled to get into any sort of groove in the first half.

3. The middle of the strike zone in baseball where a pitch is most easily hit.
4. A pronounced, enjoyable rhythm.
5. (mining) A shaft or excavation.

Derived terms

• get one's groove on
• groovy
• tongue and groove

Translations

long, narrow channel

• Bulgarian: жлеб (bg) m (žleb), канал (bg) (kanal)
• Czech: rýha f, žlábek m, zářez m, drážka f (of an LP album)
• Dutch: inkerving f
• Finnish: ura (fi), uurre
• French: rainure (fr) f, sillon (fr) m
• Georgian: ღარი (ɣari)
• German: Nut (de) f
• Greek: αυλάκωση (el) (avlákosi)
• Italian: scanalatura (it) f, incavo (it) m, solco (it) m, canale (it) m, galleria (it) f, pozzo (it) m
• Japanese: 溝 (ja) (mizo)
• Latin: canālis (la) m

• Maori: tōanga (in a sill for sliding doors), kowaka, awa, awaawa
• Polish: koleina (pl) f, żleb (pl) m
• Portuguese: ranhura (pt) f
• Romanian: canelură (ro) f
• Russian: желобо́к (ru) m (želobók), паз (ru) m (paz), вы́рез (ru) m (výrez), наре́з (ru) m (naréz) (in a rifle), колея́ (ru) f (kolejá) (in the road)
• Scottish Gaelic: clais f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: жлије̑б m

  Roman: žlijȇb (sh) m

• Spanish: ranura (es) f, acanaladura (es) f, canal (es) m, estría (es) f, hendidura (es) f, surco (es) m
• Swedish: spår (sv) n

fixed routine

• Bulgarian: коловоз m (kolovoz), рутина (bg) f (rutina)
• Czech: rutina (cs) f, vyjetá kolej f (figuratively)
• Finnish: ura (fi)
• Italian: routine f, tran-tran m
• Polish: rutyna (pl) f
• Portuguese: rotina (pt) f

• Russian: рути́на (ru) (rutína), привы́чка (ru) f (privýčka), колея́ (ru) f (kolejá)
• Scottish Gaelic: clais f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: колотѐчина f

  Roman: kolotèčina (sh) f

• Spanish: rutina (es) f, hábito (es) m

pronounced, enjoyable rhythm

• Finnish: gruuvi
• Italian: groove (it) m

• Spanish: tonadilla f

(mining) A shaft or excavation

• Dutch: schacht (nl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} గాడి (te) (gāḍi) (1, 2)

Verb

groove (third-person singular simple present grooves, present participle grooving, simple past and past participle grooved)

1. To cut a groove or channel in; to form into channels or grooves; to furrow.
2. To create, dance to, or enjoy rhythmic music.

   I was just starting to groove to the band, when we had to leave.

Translations

to cut a furrow into a surface

• Bulgarian: издълбавам (bg) (izdǎlbavam), правя жлеб (pravja žleb)
• Finnish: urittaa
• Maori: whakakōaka, whakaawa

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: жлије́бити

  Roman: žlijébiti (sh) impf

to enjoy rhythmic music

• Esperanto: gruvi

• Finnish: gruuvata

Anagrams

• go over, overgo

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French

Etymology

Borrowing from English.

Noun

groove m (plural grooves)

1. groove (fixed routine)

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowing from English.

Noun

groove m (plural grooves)

1. groove (music style)