*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of grue

From Middle English gruen, probably from Middle Low German gruwen or Middle Dutch gruwen (compare Dutch gruwen), both from Proto-Germanic *grūwijaną, perhaps ultimately an imitative derivative of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰe

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A shiver, a shudder.

verb

To be frightened; also, to shudder with fear; to quake, to tremble.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English gruen, probably from Middle Low German gruwen or Middle Dutch gruwen (compare Dutch gruwen), both from Proto-Germanic *grūwijaną, perhaps ultimately an imitative derivative of Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰers- (“to bristle”), or instead from *gʰer- (“to rub, stroke, grind”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "gruen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English gruen"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gml",
        "3": "gruwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German gruwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "gruwen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch gruwen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*grūwijaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *grūwijaną"
    },
    {
      "name": "onomatopoeic",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "title": "imitative"
      },
      "expansion": "imitative"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵʰers-",
        "t": "to bristle"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰers- (“to bristle”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gruen",
      "gruen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gruwen",
      "gruwen#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "gruwen",
      "gruwen#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "gruwen",
      "gruwen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "*grūwijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/grūwijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰers-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰers-"
    ],
    [
      "*gʰer-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gʰer-"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A shiver, a shudder."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ],
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    },
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      "pos": "verb",
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        "To be frightened; also, to shudder with fear; to quake, to tremble."
      ],
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        "Scotland",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Any byproduct of a gruesome event, such as gore, viscera, entrails, blood and guts.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Back-formation from gruesome.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  ],
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    [
      "gruesome",
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  ],
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      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A fictional man-eating predator that dwells in the dark.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably from gruesome; first used in Jack Vance's Dying Earth universe in the 1940s, but popularized by the text-based computer game Zork in 1980.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A fictional man-eating predator that dwells in the dark."
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

The property of being green when first observed before a specified time or blue when first observed after that time. · A single color inclusive of both green and blue as different shades, used in translations from languages such as Old Welsh and Old Chinese that did not always distinguish between green and blue.

adj

Of an object, green when first observed before a specified time or blue when first observed after that time. · Of a single color inclusive of both green and blue as different shades, used in translations from languages such as Old Welsh and Old Chinese that did not always distinguish between green and blue.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Blend of green + blue. The philosophy sense was coined by American philosopher Nelson Goodman in 1955 to illustrate concepts in the philosophy of science. The linguistic sense was coined by American linguist Paul Kay in 1975 as a translation from languages such as Welsh that have a basic cover term that covers both the hues called "green" and "blue" in English.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
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        "1": "+"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
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      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "Blue–green distinction in language"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "blend",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "green",
        "3": "blue"
      },
      "expansion": "Blend of green + blue"
    },
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        "occ": "philosopher",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
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    },
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      },
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    }
  ],
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    ],
    [
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      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for grue →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z3J1ZQ