grunt

See also: Grunt and grünt

English

Etymology

From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan (“to grunt”), from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”). Cognate with German grunzen (“to grunt”), Danish grynte (“to grunt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹʌnt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌnt

Noun

grunt (plural grunts)

1. A short snorting sound, often to show disapproval, or used as a reply when one is reluctant to speak.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapter X:

     The stranger, with a comfortable kind of grunt over his pipe, put his legs up on the settle that he had to himself.

2. The snorting cry of a pig.
3. Any fish of the perciform family Haemulidae.
4. A person who does ordinary and boring work.
5. (United States Army and Marine Corps slang) An infantry soldier. (From the verb, just like all the other senses.)
6. (slang) The amount of power of which a vehicle is capable.
   • 1992, Autocar & Motor (volume 192, page 61)

     The engine might not possess quite as much grunt as the later 24v six, but it delivers invigorating performance […]

   • 2006, Torque (February 2006, page 56)

     With this much grunt, it is surprising that the engine is relatively quiet.

7. (Canada, US) A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.

Synonyms

• (person who does ordinary work): gofer, lackey, peon
• (dessert): fungy, fungee

Derived terms

• grunt boy
• grunt-level
• grunt level
• grunt work

Translations

short, snorting sound

• Bulgarian: сумтене n (sumtene)
• Danish: fnys n
• Dutch: grom (nl)
• Finnish: murahdus (fi)
• French: grognement (fr)
• German: Grunzer m, Stöhnen n
• Greek: γρυλλισμός m (gryllismós)
• Ido: gruno (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: grugnito (it) m
• Latin: grunnītus m
• Maori: horu
• Portuguese: grunido m
• Romanian: groh (ro) n
• Russian: ворча́ние (ru) n (vorčánije), бурча́ние (ru) n (burčánije)
• Spanish: gruñido (es) m
• Swedish: grymtning (sv) c
• Turkish: homurdanma, homurtu (tr)

cry of a pig

• Bulgarian: грухтене n (gruhtene)
• Danish: grynt n
• Dutch: knor (nl) m
• Finnish: röhkäisy
• Galician: cuincho m, cuiña f
• German: Grunzen m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: γρυλλισμός m (gryllismós)
• Hungarian: röfögés (hu)
• Ido: gruno (io)
• Italian: grugnito (it) m
• Latin: grunnītus m
• Portuguese: grunido m
• Russian: хрю́канье (ru) n (xrjúkanʹje)
• Swedish: grymtning (sv) c

fish of the family Haemulidae

• Finnish: murisija
• German: Grunzer m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Tagalog: gonggong

a person who does ordinary and boring work

• German: Hucker (de) m, Handlanger (de) m, Hilfsarbeiter (de) m, Ungelernter m, Hiwi (de) m (pejorative)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: currito
• Swedish: hantlangare (sv) c

(United States Army and Marine Corps slang) an infantry soldier

• Danish: fodtusse c
• Finnish: nurmipora
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: bidasse (fr) f, troufion (fr) m
• Spanish: machaca (es)

(slang) the amount of power of which a vehicle is capable

• German: Wumms m, Pfeffer (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

grunt (third-person singular simple present grunts, present participle grunting, simple past and past participle grunted)

• Frequentative: gruntle

1. (intransitive, of a person) To make a grunt or grunts.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     to grunt and sweat under a weary life

2. (intransitive, of a pig) To make a grunt or grunts.
3. (intransitive, UK, slang) To break wind; to fart.

   Who just grunted?

Translations

of a person: to make a grunt or grunts

• Aromanian: gurnjescu
• Bulgarian: сумтя (bg) (sumtja)
• Danish: fnyse
• Finnish: murahtaa (fi) (single grunt), murista (fi) (multiple grunts)
• Galician: gruñir, rosmar (gl), roñar (gl)
• German: grunzen (de)
• Greek: γρυλλίζω (el) (gryllízo)

  Ancient: γρυλλίζω (grullízō)

• Hungarian: felmordul (hu), morog (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: grunar (io)
• Latin: grunniō
• Maori: ngengere, ngunguru, whēnanau, ngō, kumukumu, ngō, horu, ngengeri
• Middle English: grunten
• Norman: gronner
• Old English: grunnian, grunnettan
• Portuguese: grunir
• Romanian: grohăi (ro)
• Russian: ворча́ть (ru) (vorčátʹ), бурча́ть (ru) (burčátʹ)
• Spanish: gruñir (es)

of a pig: to make a grunt or grunts

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: грухтя (gruhtja)
• Danish: grynte
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: rína
• Finnish: röhkäistä (single grunt), röhkiä (fi) (multiple grunts)
• French: grogner (fr)
• Galician: cuincar (gl), cuiñar (gl), roñar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: grunzen (de)
• Greek: γρυλλίζω (el) (gryllízo)

  Ancient: γρυλλίζω (grullízō)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: röfög (hu)
• Ido: grunar (io)
• Italian: grugnire (it)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: grunniō
• Maori: ngengeri, horuhoru
• Middle English: grunten
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: gronner
• Old English: grunnian, grunnettan
• Portuguese: grunir
• Russian: хрю́кать (ru) (xrjúkatʹ)
• Swedish: grymta (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

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Middle English

Verb

grunt

1. Alternative form of grunten

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Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

grunt

1. neuter singular of grunn

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

grunt

1. neuter singular of grunn

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Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *grunduz.

Noun

grunt m

1. ground

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: gront
  • Dutch: grond

Further reading

• “grunt”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

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Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Grund.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrunt/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

grunt m inan

1. (construction, geology) soil
2. ground (the bottom of a body of water)

Declension

Declension of grunt

	singular	plural
nominative	grunt	grunty
genitive	gruntu	gruntów
dative	gruntowi	gruntom
accusative	grunt	grunty
instrumental	gruntem	gruntami
locative	gruncie	gruntach
vocative	gruncie	grunty

Derived terms

• gruntowność
• gruntowy
• gruntowny
• gruntownie

Further reading

• Template:R:PWN

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Grund.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrûnt/

Noun

grȕnt m (Cyrillic spelling гру̏нт)

1. (regional) plot of land, lot

Declension

Declension of grunt

	singular	plural
nominative	grȕnt	grùntovi
genitive	grunta	gruntova
dative	gruntu	gruntovima
accusative	grunt	gruntove
vocative	grunte	gruntovi
locative	gruntu	gruntovima
instrumental	gruntom	gruntovima

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Swedish

Adjective

grunt

1. (deprecated template usage) indefinite neuter singular of grund

Adverb

grunt

1. shallowly

   gentemot såväl grundt rationalistiska som känslosamt svärmiska religiösa riktningar.

   towards both shallowly rationalistic and emotionally fanatical religious tendencies.