grunt
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Etymology
From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan (“to grunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *grunnattjan, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”).
Cognate with German grunzen (“to grunt”), Danish grynte (“to grunt”). The noun senses are all instances of zero derivation from the verb.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
grunt (plural grunts)
- A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
- 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapter X:
- The stranger, with a comfortable kind of grunt over his pipe, put his legs up on the settle that he had to himself.
- The snorting cry of a pig.
- Any fish of the perciform family Haemulidae.
- A person who does ordinary and boring work.
- (US, military slang) An infantry soldier.
- Coordinate term: pogue
- 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 39:
- The poges stare at the grunts as though the grunts were Hell's Angels at the ballet.
- 1986, James Cameron, Aliens, spoken by Burke (Paul Reiser):
- He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt!
- (slang) The amount of power of which a vehicle is capable.
- 1992, Autocar & Motor, volume 192, page 61:
- The engine might not possess quite as much grunt as the later 24v six, but it delivers invigorating performance […]
- 2006 February, Torque, page 56:
- With this much grunt, it is surprising that the engine is relatively quiet.
- 2021 February, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2:
- The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.
- (Canada, US) A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.
Derived terms
Translations
short, snorting sound
|
cry of a pig
|
fish of the family Haemulidae
a person who does ordinary and boring work
|
an infantry soldier
Verb
grunt (third-person singular simple present grunts, present participle grunting, simple past and past participle grunted)
- (intransitive, of a person) To make a grunt or grunts.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
- to grunt and sweat under a weary life
- 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 186:
- The silhouette sharpens and fades as the carving is moved before the flames of the hearth, its maker grunts in perfect imitation of the ancestor - a human-lioness in oestrus.
- (intransitive, of a pig) To make a grunt or grunts.
- (intransitive, UK, slang) To break wind; to fart.
- Who just grunted?
Translations
of a person: to make a grunt or grunts
|
of a pig: to make a grunt or grunts
|
See also
The frequentative form gruntle.
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “grunt”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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