grouse
Pronunciation Etymology 1
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Pronunciation Etymology 1
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 (modern French grue) or Medieval Latin gruta, both from Latin grūs, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂-.
- Borrowed from Celtic or a different Medieval Latin - word.
- Imitative of the bird’s call.
The verb is derived from the noun.
grouse
- (countable) Any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae which inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere; specifically, the red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) native to heather moorland on the British Isles. [from 1530s]
- (red grouse) Synonyms: moorbird, moorcock, moorfowl
- 1633 (first performance), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640, →OCLC ↗, Act II, scene i, page 70 ↗:
- Looke to 't, young growſe: Ile lay it on, and ſure; / Take 't off who's wull.
- Used as an insult.
- (uncountable) The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.
- French: coq de bruyère
- German: Raufußhuhn
- Italian: gallo cedrone, pernice, urogallo
- Portuguese: tetraz, galo-silvestre
- Russian: ря́бчик
- Spanish: tetraónino, urogallo
grouse (grouses, present participle grousing; simple past and past participle groused)
- (intransitive) To hunt or shoot grouse.
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly borrowed from nrf groucier, from Old French groucier, grousser [and other forms] (whence grutch and grouch).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Verbgrouse (grouses, present participle grousing; simple past and past participle groused)
- (intransitive, originally, military slang, informal) To complain or grumble. [from late 19th c.]
- 1890, Kipling, The Young British Soldier:
- 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.
- 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
- Grouse away!" he growled. "If grousin' made a man happy, you'd be the champion."
- German: murren, grummeln
- Italian: brontolare, lamentarsi
- Spanish: quejarse
grouse (plural grouses)
- (informal) A cause for complaint; a grumble. [from early 20th c.]
grouse (comparative grouser, superlative grousest)
- (Australian, NZ, slang) Excellent. [from 1920s]
- Synonyms: Thesaurus:excellent
- Antonyms: Thesaurus:bad
- I had a grouse day. That food was grouse.
- 1965, Mudrooroo, Wild Cat Falling, HarperCollins, published 2001, page 99:
- Real grouse birthday this. First time he's had a party.
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