Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Gruff"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gruff \Gruff\, a. [Compar. {Gruffer}; superl. {Gruffest}.] [D.
grof; akin to G. grob, OHG. gerob, grob, Dan. grov, Sw. grof,
perh. akin to AS. rc['o]fan to break, Z. reavc, rupture, g-
standing for the AS. prefix ge-, Goth. ga-.]
Of a rough or stern manner, voice, or countenance; sour;
surly; severe; harsh. --Addison.
Gruff, disagreeable, sarcastic remarks. --Thackeray.
-- {Gruff"ly}, adv. -- {Gruff"ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
gruff
adj 1: brusque and surly and forbidding; "crusty remarks"; "a
crusty old man"; "his curmudgeonly temper"; "gruff
manner"; "a gruff reply" [syn: {crusty}, {curmudgeonly},
{ill-humored}, {ill-humoured}]
2: deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or
emotion; "gruff voices"; "the dog's gruff barking";
"hoarse cries"; "makes all the instruments sound powerful
but husky:- Virgil Thomson [syn: {hoarse}, {husky}]
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