The FEW proposes a link with craticula (‘grill, grate’), probably in accordance with Godefroy’s definition ‘grillé, desséché’, and Tobler-Lommatzsch’s ‘ausgetrocknet, eingeschrumpft (v. alten Menschen)’. The DEAF suggests an alternative etymon with gracilis (‘slender, thin’), and defines the verb as ‘devenir plus mince’. However, this latter interpretation does not seem applicable to the sole Anglo-Norman attesttation.