grum

English

Etymology

From Middle English grom, from Old English grom, gram (“angry, wrathful”), from Proto-Germanic *gramaz (“angry, bearing a grudge”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to thunder, rub, tear, scratch”). Probably influenced in form by glum. Compare also Danish grum (“cruel, atrocious, fell”), Swedish grym (“cruel, furious, terrible”). See also grim, gram, grump.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹʌm/
• Rhymes: -ʌm

Adjective

grum (comparative grummer, superlative grummest)

1. Morose, stern, surly, sullen.
   • 1836, Joanna Baillie, The Stripling, act 2:

     Look not so grum at me; there is something to make thee more cheerful. (Offering him money with one hand, while he receives the bag with the other.)

   • 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger Poeple's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 58:

     She cast a speculative look upon her husband, silent and grum as if he had been thus gruffly carved out of wood.

2. Low, deep in the throat; guttural

   a grum voice

Synonyms

• glum
• grim
• sour

Derived terms

• grumly
• grumness

Anagrams

• murg

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian) [ˈɡɾum]
• Rhymes: -um

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English groom.

Noun

grum m (plural grums)

1. bellhop

   Synonyms: mosso d'equipatge, mosso de pista

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin grūmus (“small heap”).

Noun

grum m (plural grums)

1. beeswax bleached white from exposure to sunlight

   Synonym: cera de grum

2. lump

   Synonym: grumoll

Derived terms

• agrumar
• grumejar
• grumoll

Further reading

• “grum” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin grumus, from Proto-Indo-European *gar-, *ger- (“to tie, bind together”).

Noun

grum n (plural grumuri)

1. (obsolete) pile, bundle, heap

   Synonyms: grămadă, teanc, stivă

Related terms

• grumaz
• grumura
• sugruma