# grunt
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English grunten, from Old English grunnettan (“to grunt”), from Proto-West Germanic *grunnattjan, 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”). The noun senses are all instances of zero derivation from the verb.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡɹʌnt/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʌnt

### Noun

grunt (plural grunts)
* 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.
* The snorting cry of a pig.
* Any fish of the perciform family Haemulidae.
* A person who does ordinary and boring work.
    Synonyms: gofer, lackey, peon
* (US, military slang) An infantry soldier.
    Coordinate term: pogue
** 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 39:The poges stare at the grunts as though the grunts were Hell's Angels at the ballet.
** 1984, Charles Robert Anderson, The Grunts, Berkley Books, →ISBN, page xii:The events described are those encountered by only 160 men, though the adversity recounted is representative of that experienced by all grunts in Vietnam.
** 1986, James Cameron, Aliens, spoken by Burke (Paul Reiser):He can't make that kind of decision. He's just a grunt!
* (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 February, Torque, page 56:With this much grunt, it is surprising that the engine is relatively quiet.
** 2021 February, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 55, column 2:The lack of bottom-end grunt presents as a particular problem in hilly terrain where the five-speed manual gearbox really earns its keep.
* (Canada, US) A dessert of steamed berries and dough, usually blueberries; blueberry grunt.
    Synonyms: fungy, fungee

#### Derived terms

* death grunt
* grunt boy
* grunt-horn
* grunt-level
* grunt level
* grunt work
* Margaret grunt
* margate grunt

#### Translations
### Verb

grunt (third-person singular simple present grunts, present participle grunting, simple past and past participle grunted)
* (intransitive, of a person) To make a grunt or grunts.
** c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:to grunt and sweat under a weary life
** 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 186:The silhouette sharpens and fades as the carving is moved before the flames of the hearth, its maker grunts in perfect imitation of the ancestor - a human-lioness in oestrus.
* (intransitive, of a pig) To make a grunt or grunts.
* (intransitive, UK, slang) To break wind; to fart.
    Who just grunted?

#### See also

The frequentative form gruntle.

### References

* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “grunt”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

## Czech
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech grunt, from Middle High German grunt (German Grund).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɡrunt]

### Noun

grunt m inan
* (dialectal) base, core
    Synonym: základ
    vzít z gruntu ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
* (archaic) farm
    Synonym: statek

#### Derived terms

* gruntovat

### Further reading

* “grunt”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “grunt”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “grunt”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Middle English
### Verb

grunt
* Alternative form of grunten

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Adjective

grunt
* neuter singular of grunn

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Adjective

grunt
* neuter singular of grunn

## Old Dutch
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz.

### Noun

grunt m
* ground

#### Descendants

* Middle Dutch: gront
** Dutch: grond

#### Further reading

* “grunt”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

## Old High German
### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *grundu, from Proto-Germanic *grunduz.

### Noun

grunt m
* ground
* root
* hollow

#### Derived terms

* gruntfrost

#### Descendants

* Middle High German: grunt
** Cimbrian: grund, grumf (< with epenthetic -f- *grumfþuz)
** German: Grund
** Luxembourgish: Grond
** → Old Polish: grunt
*** Polish: grunt, gront, grąt (Middle Polish), gruńt (Southern Greater Poland)
**** → Kashubian: gruńt, grëńt
*** Silesian: grōnt
** → Russian: грунт (grunt)
*** → Serbo-Croatian: грунт
** Yiddish: גרונט (grunt)

#### References

* Köbler, Gerhard, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, (6. Auflage) 2014

## Old Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Middle High German grunt, from Old High German grunt. First attested in 1402.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (10th–15th CE) /ɡrunt/
* IPA: (15th CE) /ɡrunt/

### Noun

grunt m animacy unattested
* ground; field; land
** 1874 [1402], Monumenta Medii Aevi Historica res gestas Poloniae illustrantia. Pomniki Dziejowe Wieków Średnich do objaśnienia rzeczy polskich służące‎, volume XVII, page 81:Iohannes... conuallem scilicet vlg. grunt dictam... resignauit[Iohannes... conuallem scilicet vlg. grunt dictam... resignauit]
* (attested in Silesia) core (basis of a given thing, foundation)
** 1956 [Middle of the 15th century], Jerzy Woronczak, editor, Teksty polskie w rękopisie nr 43 Biblioteki Kapitulnej we Wrocławiu z połowy XV wieku‎, Silesia, page 56v:Dixit Paulus Petro: Pax tecum, fundamentum, grunt, ecclesiarum et pastor ovium[Dixit Paulus Petro: Pax tecum, fundamentum, grunt, ecclesiarum et pastor ovium]

#### Derived terms

* gruntowny

#### Related terms

* gruntownie

#### Descendants

* Polish: grunt, gront, grąt (Middle Polish), gruńt (Southern Greater Poland)
** → Kashubian: gruńt, grëńt
* Silesian: grōnt

### References

* Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “grunt”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
* Mańczak, Witold (2017) “grunt”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
* Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “grunt”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
* Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “grunt”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
* B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “grunt”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

## Polish
### Alternative forms

* gront, grąt (Middle Polish)
* gruńt (Southern Greater Poland)

### Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish grunt.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɡrunt/
* (Middle Polish) IPA: /ˈɡrunt/
* (Lesser Poland):
** (Przemyśl) IPA: [ˈɡrunt]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -unt
* Syllabification: grunt

### Noun

grunt m inan (diminutive gruncik, related adjective gruntowy)
* (countable) ground (arable soil or earth)
    Synonyms: gleba, rola, ziemia
* (countable) ground (surface of the earth in a specific place)
    Synonym: ziemia
* (chiefly in the plural, officialese) ground (area of land that is owned by someone)
    Synonym: teren
* (uncountable, masonry) mortar; primer (substance that binds strongly to the substrate, used as a base for painting, plastering and polishing)
    Synonym: zaprawa
* (uncountable, literary) base; primer (previously prepared basis for certain actions; essential element of something) [with dla (+ genitive) or pod (+ accusative) ‘for what’]
    Synonym: podstawa
* (uncountable, literary) foundation; core (certain ideological, cultural whole, characteristic of a specific country or social environment)
* (countable) ground (bottom of a body of water)
* (countable, obsolete) foundation (bottom of a construction)
    Synonym: fundament
* (countable, obsolete) core (reason or cause for something)
* (uncountable, obsolete) land; continent (area of the earth not covered by water)
    Synonym: ląd
* (Middle Polish) world
    Synonym: świat
* (Middle Polish) background
    Synonym: tło
* (Middle Polish) source; documentation; evidence (document or fact that can be relied upon)
* (Middle Polish) certainty, solidness
* (Middle Polish) source (place where something arises)
* (Middle Polish) etymology; etymon
    Synonym: źródłosłów
* (Middle Polish) original version of something
    Synonym: oryginał
* (Middle Polish) pattern, symbol
* (Middle Polish) prepositional phrase
* (Middle Polish) fundament; Further details are uncertain.
** 1532, Bartłomiej z Bydgoszczy, Słownik łacińsko-polski‎, page 62:Fundamentum, grvnth, początek[Fundamentum, grunt, początek]
** 1564, J. Mączyński, Lexicon‎, page 400b:Solum, Dno/ grunt/ ziemiá.[Solum, Dno/ grunt/ ziemia.]
** 1564, J. Mączyński, Lexicon‎, pages 451c, 140b [2 r.]:Terrenum, Dno/ grunt álbo poległość ziemie.[Terrenum, Dno/ grunt albo poległość ziemie.]
** 1588, A. Calepinus, Dictionarium decem linguarum‎, pages 441a, 990b:Fundum ‒ Grunt, dno.[Fundum ‒ Grunt, dno.]

#### Usage notes

The nominative and accusative plural form grunta is dated.

#### Derived terms

* gruntowny
* grunt to
* grunt pod nogami
* neutralny grunt
* podatny grunt
* żyzny grunt
* w gruncie rzeczy
* z gruntu
* grunt pali się pod nogami
* stać na twardym gruncie impf
* stanąć na gruncie pf, stawać na gruncie impf
* stanąć na twardym gruncie pf, stawać na twardym gruncie impf
* wybadać grunt pf, badać grunt impf

#### Related terms

* gruntownie
* gruntowność

#### Descendants

* → Kashubian: gruńt, grëńt

### Further reading

* grunt in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* grunt in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “grunt”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
* “GRUNT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 25.05.2009
* Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “grunt”, in Słownik języka polskiego
* Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “grunt”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
* J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “grunt”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 921
* Aleksander Saloni (1899) “grunt”, in “Lud wiejski w okolicy Przeworska”, in M. Arct, E. Lubowski, editors, Wisła : miesięcznik gieograficzno-etnograficzny (in Polish), volume 13, Warsaw: Artur Gruszecki, page 238

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from German Grund.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɡrûnt/

### Noun

grȕnt m (Cyrillic spelling гру̏нт)
* (regional) plot of land, lot

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Adjective

grunt
* indefinite neuter singular of grund

### Adverb

grunt
* shallowly
    gentemot såväl grundt rationalistiska som känslosamt svärmiska religiösa riktningar.towards both shallowly rationalistic and emotionally fanatical religious tendencies.