Alpha stage software — under active development. Data may be incomplete or change without notice.
From grue (“(archaic except Northern England, Scotland) to be frightened; to shudder with fear”) + -some (suffix meaning ‘characterized by some specific condition or quality, usually to a considerable degree’ forming adjectives and nouns), probably popularized by the Scottish novelist and poet Walter Scott (1771–1832): see, for example, the 1816 quotation.
cognates
* Danish grusom (“cruel; horrible”)
* Middle Dutch grousaem, grusaem (modern Dutch gruwzaam (“cruel; gruesome”))
* Middle High German grûsam, grûwesam (modern German grausam (“cruel”))
* Norwegian Bokmål grusom (“cruel; horrible”)
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