gruff
English
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gruff¹
- /ɡɹʌf/ US, UK
- /ɡɹɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɡɹʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
16th century, from Dutch grof and/or Middle Low German grof (both “rough, coarse, rude”), from Old Dutch *grof or Old Saxon *grof, both from Proto-West Germanic *grob, from Proto-Germanic *grubaz (“coarse, rough”), possibly from an earlier *gahrubaz and then related with *hreubaz (“scabby, rough, scrubby”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian groaf (“rough, coarse, crude”), West Frisian grof (“rough, coarse, crude”), Low German groff (“rough, coarse, crude”), German grob (“rough, coarse, crude”), Swedish grov (“rough, coarse, crude”).
adjective gruffer · gruffest
- having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
- hoarse-voiced. a gruff woman
- hoarse. a gruff voice
verb gruffs · gruffing · gruffed
- To speak gruffly. “Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did you bribe someone?” “No,” I told him. “It was a gift, from some people who really want me to be on this trip.” “Fine,” he gruffed.
gruff²
- /ɡɹʌf/ US, UK
- /ɡɹɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɡɹʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
noun gruffs
- Alternative spelling of grough (“gully in a moor”). […] Yorkshire and Derbyshire, where [...] the ordinary sportsman has to go "gruffing," as it is called, to game game, i. e., stealing up the "gruffs" or gullies and undulations in the ground, and trying all the clumps of long old twisted heather and broken bogs. […] the open places on the moor, and
gruff³
- /ɡɹʌf/ US, UK
- /ɡɹɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ɡɹʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
Perhaps related to Dutch grof (“rough, coarse”).
adjective
- Of goods: bulky. […] articles that usually compose the gruff cargoes of our outward bound shipping.
Translations
Talk about this word "gruff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gruff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gruff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gruff "gruff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gruff.Cite this
@misc{gruff_2026,
title = {gruff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gruff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
