gruesome

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡɹuːsəm/ (UK); /ˈɡɹusəm/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It was formed from obsolete or dialect grue “to shudder”^{[2][3][4][5][6]} and the suffix -some.^[2][3][4][6] Grue is from Middle English gruen,^[2][3][4][5] probably from Middle Dutch grūwen (“to shudder”) or Middle Low German gruwen.^[2][3][4][5] It is related to German grauen “to feel horror”.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Inspiring fear or horror (1570, as growsome).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is one of many Scottish words popularized in England by Walter Scott's novels.^[4] The sense “full of fear” (1869) is rare,^[7] and Random House records a weaker sense, “causing problems, distressing”.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1325 – gruen, to shudder.^[3][4]
• 1570 – inspiring horror.^[7][3]
• about 1700 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^[5]
• 1869 – full of fear, rare.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Causing horror and disgust; grisly or ghastly.
2. Very unpleasant or distressing.

Word family

• gruesomely
• gruesomeness

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press