See also: grimacé

English

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a grimace

Etymology

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From French grimace,[1] from Middle French grimace, from Old French grimace, grimuche, from grime (mask) (with the pejorative suffix -ace, from Latin -āceus), from Frankish *grīma, *grīmō (mask), from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (mask, helmet). Cognate with Old English grīma (mask, visor, helmet, spectre, apparition). More at grime.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/, (now rare) /ɡɹɪ.ˈmeɪs/;[2] enPR: grĭm'-əs, grĭ-mās'
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/, (now very rare) /ɡɹɪ.ˈmeɪs/;[2][3] enPR: grĭm'-əs, grĭ-mās'
  • Rhymes: -eɪs
The pronunciation with stress on the second syllable was the usual one in the 1700s and 1800s, found in poetry[4] and preferred by dictionaries to the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable,[5] but it is now very rare.

Noun

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grimace (plural grimaces)

  1. A contorted facial expression, often expressing contempt or pain.
    • 2005 March, Opera News:
      I trundle off to bed, eyes brimming, face twisted into a grateful glistening grimace, and awaken the next day wondering what all the fuss was about.
  2. (obsolete) Affectation, pretence.
    • 1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 105:
      Zeluco considered all this as mere affectation and grimace, and was convinced that she would, in due time, unfold the particular mode in which she wished to be indemnified [] .
    • 1790, Helen Maria Williams, Julia, Routledge, published 2016, page 21:
      Charlotte was equally insensible to all his fashionable grimace, and indifferent to his conversation.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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grimace (third-person singular simple present grimaces, present participle grimacing, simple past and past participle grimaced)

  1. (intransitive) To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “grimace”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. 2.0 2.1 grimace”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ grimace”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  4. ^ For example, Scottish poet Robert Fergusson (1750–1774), in a poem, rhymes "na: rather gleefu' turn your face, / forsake hypocrisy, grimace". John Mitchell, in a work published in 1838, rhymes "without a hindrance or grimace, / a ready grave in every face".
  5. ^ For example, The Orthoëpist: A Pronouncing Manual (1880) by Alfred Ayres.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French grimace, from Old French grimace, grimuche (a contorted or wry face, grotesque countenance), from grime (mask) +‎ -ace (pejorative suffix; from Latin -āceus), from Old Frankish *grīma, *grīmo (mask), from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (mask, helmet, cover, night), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrey- (to strip, paint, smear). Cognate with Middle Dutch grime (mask), Old Saxon grīma (mask), Old English grīma (mask), Old Norse gríma (mask, helmet, night). More at grime.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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grimace f (plural grimaces)

  1. grimace

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Dutch: grimas
  • English: grimace
  • German: Grimasse f
  • Swedish: grimas

Verb

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grimace

  1. inflection of grimacer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

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