grat/grac

pleasing; thankful

Spelled grat, grac · gratus 'pleasing, welcome, thankful'; gratia 'favor, thanks'

Latin gratus meant pleasing: gratitude expresses thanks, gracious people show kindness, and a gratuitous insult comes without being called for.

Words built from it

gratitude — a feeling of thankfulness
Latin gratus (thankful) → gratitudo (thankfulness) → gratitude
grateful — feeling or showing thanks
Latin gratus (pleasing) → obsolete English grate (pleasing, thankful) + -ful
gratuitous — uncalled for; given or done without sufficient reason
Latin gratus (pleasing) → gratuitus (freely given) → gratuitous
gracious — kind, courteous, and generous
Latin gratus (pleasing) → gratia (favor) → gratiosus (showing favor) → Old French gracious → gracious
ingratiating — trying to win someone's favor, often through flattery
Latin in (into) + gratia (favor) → English ingratiate (bring into favor) + -ing
congratulate — express pleasure at someone's success or good fortune
Latin con- (together, intensively) + gratulari (express joy), from gratus (pleasing, thankful) → congratulari → congratulate

grating — Comes from grate, through Old French grater 'to scrape'; it does not come from gratus 'pleasing, thankful.'