An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Groschen

by Friedrich Kluge

Groschen, masculine, ‘groschen (11/5d.),’ from the equivalent Middle High German gros, grosse, masculine; like French gros, ‘groschen,’ from Middle Latin grossus; related to the common Romance adjective, Italian grosso, ‘thick’ (compare French gros), just as Middle Low German grote (whence English groat), ‘groschen,’ to groß.