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grouse¹

(grous)

n.pl. grouse or grous•es

Any of various plump, chiefly ground-dwelling gallinaceous birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae of northern North America and Eurasia, characteristically having feathered legs and nostrils and mottled plumage.

[Origin unknown.]

(click for a larger image)

grouse1

female ruffed grouse

Bonasa umbellus

grouse²

(grous) Informal

intr.v. groused, grous·ing, grous·es

To complain; grumble.

A cause for complaint.

[Perhaps from French dialectal groucer, from Old French grouchier; see GRUDGE.]

grouser n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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