grouse

Meaning

1. Any of various game birds of the subfamily Tetraoninae which inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere; specifically, the red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) native to heather moorland on the British Isles.
2. The flesh or meat of this bird eaten as food.

grumble

greyhen

lagopus

nit-pick

bonasia

tetrao

blue grouse

bitchin’

reet canny

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡɹaʊs/

Cognate with French

grue

In summary

Attested in the 1530s, as grows ("moorhen"), a plural used collectively. The origin of the noun is unknown; the following derivations have been suggested: * From Old French grue (“crane”) (modern French grue) or Medieval Latin gruta (“crane”), both from Latin grūs (“crane”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- (“to cry hoarsely; a crane”). * Borrowed from Celtic or a different Medieval Latin word. * Imitative of the bird’s call. The verb is derived from the noun.

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