Griesgram

German

Etymology

From Middle High German grisgramen (“to grind one’s teeth”), from Old High German grisgramōn (“to grind one’s teeth”). Later reanalyzed as a compound gries (“grey”) +‎ Gram (“grief”), which influenced the semantic development.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡʁiːsˌɡʁaːm/
Audio: (file)

Noun

Griesgram m (strong, genitive Griesgrames or Griesgrams, plural Griesgrame)

grumpy, ill-tempered person
Synonym: Bärbeiß

Declension

Declension of Griesgram [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Griesgram	die	Griesgrame
genitive	eines	des	Griesgrames, Griesgrams	der	Griesgrame
dative	einem	dem	Griesgram, Griesgrame¹	den	Griesgramen
accusative	einen	den	Griesgram	die	Griesgrame

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

griesgrämig