grimace

See also: grimacé

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From French grimace , 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

• enPR: grĭm'-əs, grĭ-mās'; IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/, (now rare) /ɡɹɪ.ˈmeɪs/
• enPR: grĭm'-əs, grĭ-mās'; IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/, (now very rare) /ɡɹɪ.ˈmeɪs/
• Rhymes: -eɪs

The pronunciation with stress on the second syllable was the usual one in the 1700s and 1800s, found in poetry and preferred by dictionaries to the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable, but it is now very rare.

Noun

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.

Translations

a distortion of the face

• Aromanian: strãmbãturã f
• Bulgarian: гримаса (bg) f (grimasa)
• Catalan: ganyota f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬼臉／鬼脸 (zh) (guǐliǎn), 鬼脸 (zh) (guǐliǎn)

• Danish: grimasse (da) c
• Dutch: grimas (nl)
• Esperanto: grimaco
• Finnish: irvistys (fi)
• French: grimace (fr) f
• Georgian: გრიმასა (grimasa)
• German: Grimasse (de) f
• Greek: μορφασμός (el) m (morfasmós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: grimasz (hu)
• Irish: strainc f, grainc f, cár m, gramhas m, strabhas m, scaimh f
• Italian: smorfia (it) f
• Japanese: しかめっ面 (しかめっつら, shikamettsura)
• Latin: sanna f
• Luxembourgish: Grimass f
• Norwegian: grimase m
• Polish: grymas (pl) m
• Portuguese: careta (pt) f, esgar (pt) m
• Romanian: grimasă (ro) f, strâmbătură (ro) f
• Russian: грима́са (ru) f (grimása), ужи́мка (ru) f (užímka)
• Spanish: mueca (es) f
• Swedish: grimas (sv) c, grimasch (sv) c

Verb

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

Translations

to make grimaces

• Bulgarian: гримаснича (grimasniča)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 扮鬼臉／扮鬼脸 (bànguǐliǎn), 扮鬼脸 (bàn guǐliǎn)

• Czech: šklebit se (cs)
• Danish: grimassere
• Esperanto: grimaci
• Finnish: irvistää (fi), irvistellä (fi), virnistellä (fi)
• French: grimacer (fr), faire des grimaces
• German: Grimassen schneiden
• Greek: μορφάζω (el) (morfázo)
• Hungarian: grimaszokat vág (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 顰める (ja) (しかめる, shikameru)
• Latin: surringor
• Maori: whāita, whakamenemene, moteko, whakamoteko, whakahamero, whakatekoteko, ngeri (fierce looks), whakatoretore, whakapī
• Norwegian: gjøre grimase, lage grimase
• Persian: قیافه ی خود را در هم کشیدن, روی ترش کردن
• Portuguese: fazer careta/caretas
• Romanian: strâmba (ro)
• Russian: грима́сничать (ru) (grimásničatʹ), кривляться (ru) (krivljatʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian: кревељити се
• Spanish: hacer gestos
• Swedish: grimasera (sv)

See also

• gurn

Anagrams

• Gemaric, Megaric

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French

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French grimace, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French grimace, grimuche (“a contorted or wry face, grotesque countenance”), from grime (“mask”) (with the pejorative suffix -ace, from Latin -āceus), from Old (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Frankish *grīma, *grīmo (“mask”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask, helmet, cover, night”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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

• IPA^(key): /ɡʁi.mas/

Noun

grimace f (plural grimaces)

1. grimace

Derived terms

• grimacer

Verb

grimace

1. first-person singular present indicative of grimacer
2. third-person singular present indicative of grimacer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of grimacer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of grimacer
5. second-person singular imperative of grimacer

Further reading

• “grimace”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.