grouse
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grouse¹
- /ɡɹaʊs/ US, UK
- /ɡræɔs/ Australia
- /ɡræus/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -aʊs
Where it comes from
Attested in the 1530s, as grows ("moorhen"), a plural used collectively.
The origin of the noun is unknown; the following derivations have been suggested:
* From Old French grue (“crane”) (modern French grue) or Medieval Latin gruta (“crane”), both from Latin grūs (“crane”).
* Borrowed from Celtic or a different Medieval Latin word.
* Imitative of the bird’s call.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun grouse · grouses
- Any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae which inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere; specifically, the red grouse (Lagopus scotica) native to heather moorland on the British Isles. Among fowls for the table [of King Henry VIII] are crocards, winders, runners, grows, and peions, but neither Turky or Guiney-fowl.
- The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.
verb grouses · grousing · groused
- To hunt or shoot grouse.
grouse²
- /ɡɹaʊs/ US, UK
- /ɡræɔs/ Australia
- /ɡræus/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -aʊs
Where it comes from
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly borrowed from Norman groucier, from Old French groucier, grousser (“to grumble, murmur”) [and other forms] (whence grutch (“to complain; to murmur”) and grouch). The further etymology is unknown, but it may be derived from Frankish *grōtijan (“to make cry, scold, rebuke”) or of onomatopoeic origin.
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb grouses · grousing · groused
- To complain or grumble. If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind, Don't grouse like a woman, nor crack on, nor blind; Be handy and civil, and then you will find That it's beer for the young British soldier.
noun grouses
- A cause for complaint; a grumble.
grouse³
- /ɡɹaʊs/ US, UK
- /ɡræɔs/ Australia
- /ɡræus/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -aʊs
Where it comes from
Uncertain; possibly from British dialectal groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian (Scotland)), grosh (northeast Lancashire) and groshy (“having thriving vegetation; juicy and tender; of weather: good for vegetation, rainy”) (Lancashire, Yorkshire), grushie (“having thriving vegetation”) (Scotland); from Scots groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian, obsolete), grush (obsolete), grushie, grushy (“growing healthily or lushly; excellent, very good”) (both archaic), from gross (“lacking refinement, coarse; fat; large”) + -ie (suffix meaning ‘rather, somewhat’).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: beef, bellyache, gripe, holler, squawk, alberta, complain, conservation, crab, family tetraonidae, greater, hinds, lek, pinnated, ptarmigan, ruffed
Translations
Every language
noun any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae
| Español | tetraónino, urogallo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 雷鳥 raichō, ライチョウ raichō |
| 中文 | 岩雷鳥 /岩雷鸟 yánléiniǎo, 松雞 /松鸡 sōngjī |
| Português | tetraz, galo-silvestre |
| Français | coq de bruyère |
| Deutsch | Raufußhuhn |
| Italiano | gallo cedrone, pernice, urogallo |
| Ελληνικά | αγριόγαλος agriógalos |
| Română | cocoș-de-munte, cocoș-sălbatic |
| Русский | ря́бчик rjábčik, те́терев téterev |
| العربية | طَيْهُوج ṭayhūj |
verb to complain or grumble
| Español | quejarse |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | murren, grummeln |
| Italiano | brontolare, lamentarsi |
| Ελληνικά | μουρμουρίζω mourmourízo, γκρινιάζω gkriniázo |
Talk about this word "grouse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grouse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grouse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grouse "grouse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grouse.Cite this
@misc{grouse_2026,
title = {grouse},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grouse},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
