grizzle

grizzle
grizzle (adj.) "gray-colored," early 15c., from O.Fr. grisel (see GRIZZLED (Cf. grizzled)) which also meant "gray-haired old man" (a noun sense recorded in M.E. from mid-14c.). The verb, “to make gray,” is attested from 1740.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Grizzle — Griz zle, v. t. & i. To make or become grizzly, or grayish. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] Hardship of the way such as would grizzle little children. R. F. Burton. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] I found myself on the Nubian desert shaking hands with a grizzling… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Grizzle — Griz zle, n. [F. gris: cf. grisaille hair partly gray, fr. gris gray. See {Gris}, and cf. {Grisaille}.] Gray; a gray color; a mixture of white and black. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Grizzle — Griz zle, v. i. & t. [Etym. uncertain.] To worry; to fret; to bother; grumble. [Prov. Eng.] Don t sit grizzling there. Charles Reade. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • grizzle — ► VERB informal, chiefly Brit. ▪ (of a child) cry or whimper fretfully. ORIGIN of unknown origin …   English terms dictionary

  • grizzle — grizzle1 [griz′əl] n. [< ME grisel < OFr adj. grisel < gris, gray: see GRISAILLE] 1. Archaic a) gray hair b) a gray wig 2. gray vt., vi. grizzled …   English World dictionary

  • grizzle — [18] Grizzle ‘whine, complain’ is a bit of a puzzle. It has no obvious ancestor, and it is tempting to conclude that it originated as an ironic allusion to ‘patient Griselda’ (popularly Grizel from the 14th to the 19th centuries), the proverbial… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • grizzle — [18] Grizzle ‘whine, complain’ is a bit of a puzzle. It has no obvious ancestor, and it is tempting to conclude that it originated as an ironic allusion to ‘patient Griselda’ (popularly Grizel from the 14th to the 19th centuries), the proverbial… …   Word origins

  • grizzle — UK [ˈɡrɪz(ə)l] / US verb [intransitive] Word forms grizzle : present tense I/you/we/they grizzle he/she/it grizzles present participle grizzling past tense grizzled past participle grizzled British to cry quietly and continuously in an annoying… …   English dictionary

  • grizzle —  Whimper, cry fretfully (usu. applied to children). Complain.  n. grizzler, grizzle guts …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • grizzle — I. noun Etymology: Middle English grisel, adjective, gray, from Anglo French, from gris, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German grīs gray Date: 1601 1. archaic gray hair 2. a. a roan coat pattern or color b. a gray or roan animal II …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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