English
gruff
Gruff may come from Dutch grof ‘rough, coarse’.
- Dutchc. 1500–presentgrof‘rough, coarse’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2001gruff
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Dutchc. 1500–presentgrof‘rough, coarse’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2001gruff
Earliest quotation: 2001, Benny Hinn: “Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did…”
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *hreubaz ‘scabby, rough, scrubby’
Today it means
adj having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Dutch grof / gruff