What's in a word - I am "greatful" for you!

I have been writing a golf column for the Kokomo Tribune for over 20 years now.  I also read the newspaper pretty much cover to cover.

I am one of the rare engineers that can spell.  (I hope you don't find any spelling errors here.  :-)  Misspellings in the newspaper, magazines and books stand out to me and disrupt my reading.

One word that I see multiple times that stands out to me when I read it is the word grateful.  It seems to me that the word should be spelled "greatful"!  After all, you would use the word when you are feeling "great" about something or someone.  Why would the word be spelled grateful?  According to the dictionary the word grate means to rub hard or wear away.  If I was really full of grate I would be worn down and irritated.  It just seems like the word should be spelled "greatful".

We all know that the English language has words, spellings and pronunciations that may not make sense.  I guess I am looking at the word as a compound word which is why I think of combining great and full should be "greatful".  The word "grateful" is certainly not the combination of grate and full even though that is how my brain wants to process it!

In any case I am "greatful" for you coming to this website and blog.  Have a GREAT day!