growl
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: groul
ipa: /ɡɹaʊl/
ipa: /ɡɹaʊl/
rhymes: -aʊl
Forms: form: growls
form: growling
form: growled
form: growled
form: groil
form: groul
Etymology: From Middle English groulen, grollen, gurlen (“of the bowels: to growl, rumble”), either possibly from Old French groler (variant of croler (“to be agitated, shake”)), grouler, grouller (“to growl, grumble”), from Frankish *grullen, *gruljan or from Old English gryllan, both from Proto-Germanic *gruljaną (“to make a sound; to growl, grumble, rumble”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to make a noise; to mumble, murmur; to rattle; to grind; to rub, stroke”), probably ultimately imitative. The word is cognate with Middle Dutch grollen (“to make a noise; to croak, grumble, murmur; to be angry”) (modern Dutch grollen (“to grumble”)), German grollen (“to rumble; to be angry, bear ill will”), Old English grillan, griellan (“to provoke, offend; to gnash the teeth”). Compare grill.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Senses: examples: text: The dog growled at me as I walked past.
text: [T]here are Wolf-Whelps in Palaces, and Governments, as well as in Cottages, and Forreſts. […] They go out however, as there is Occaſion, and Hunt and Growle for Company; but at the ſame time, they give the Sign out of their Maſters hand, hold Intelligence with the Enemy; and Make uſe of their Power and Credit to Worry Honeſter Men them Themſelves.
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] CLV. A Shepherd and a Wolves Whelp [Reflexion].”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 140:
text: Let bears and lions growl and fight, / Let bears and lions growl and fight, / For 'tis their nature too, / For 'tis their nature too.
ref: 1806, [Isaac] Watts; B. Jacobs [i.e., Benjamin Jacob], “Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite. Song 16.”, in Dr. Watts’ Divine & Moral Songs […], London: Printed for & sold by the author, […], →OCLC, page 18:
text: "All's for the worst" is a very common motto, and under its influence there are thousands who growl when they go to bed, and growl still louder when they get up; who growl at their breakfast, who growl at their dinner, who growl at their supper, and who growl between meals. Discontent is written in every feature of their visage; […]
ref: 1841, “Fydget Fyxington”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Pic Nic Papers. […] (Collection of Ancient and Modern British Authors; CCCXXX), Paris: Baudry’s European Library, […]; and Stassin et Xavier, […], →OCLC, page 225:
text: Lord Derby growled,—growling especially at Mr. [William Ewart] Gladstone,—and the Archbishop of Canterbury growled, and the Bishop of Oxford growled, and the Marquis of Bath (a good Conservative) growled, but he (the Marquis) growled at the Government rather than at the Bill.
ref: 1868 April 25, The Spectator: A Weekly Review of Politics, Literature, Theology, and Art, volume 41, number 2078, London: John Campbell, […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 482, column 2:
text: April woke in darkness to the sound of Baron growling. Not that she could hear the dog, exactly. He was far out in the backyard at the edge of the woods. […] April waited for the dog to settle down. Instead, his growling grew deeper.
ref: 2016, Ted Sanders, “April”, in The Harp and the Ravenvine (The Keepers; 2), New York, N.Y.: Harper, →ISBN:
synonyms: gnar
gnarl
gurl
snarl
glosses: To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry animal; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound.
examples: text: And he is bending in the wind, scooping pitch, growling. […] He plays his false fingers. Chokes the trumpet. He is naked. This is naked jazz. O-bop-she-bam. Never lying. Telling it like it is.
ref: 1998, Jackie Kay, “Music”, in Trumpet, London: Picador, →ISBN; 1st Vintage Contemporaries edition, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, 2000, →ISBN:
text: James "Bubber" Miley "used to growl all night long, playing gutbucket on his horn. That was when we decided to forget all about the sweet music."
ref: 2016, Henry Martin, Keith Waters, quoting Duke Ellington, “1920s Jazz in New York and Europe”, in Jazz: The First 100 Years, 3rd enhanced edition, Boston, Mass.: Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 121:
qualifier: jazz
glosses: Of a wind instrument: to produce a low-pitched rumbling sound.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
glosses: To send a user a message via the Growl software library.
examples: text: The old man growled his displeasure at the postman.
text: Bastane, as he entered, growled an invective, while he sullenly expressed his discontent at an unexpected call and additional labour.
ref: 1853, Marca, “The Leads of St. Mark”, in The British Journal: A Home, Colonial, and General Magazine, volume III, London: John Mortimer, publisher, […], →OCLC, page 345:
glosses: To express (something) by growling.
examples: text: […] John Gilmore would take up his tenor and growl a keening march, Danny Thompson stab and worry with a flute, Sun Ra leave his big conga and mount the temple of keyboards for a ritual parenthesis of chromatic zig-zags and electro-howls.
ref: 2005, Gerald Majer, “Proxima Ra”, in The Velvet Lounge: On Late Chicago Jazz, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 37:
qualifier: jazz
glosses: To play a wind instrument in a way that produces a low-pitched rumbling sound.
glosses: To perform death growl vocals.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growler
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: Growlery
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growlery
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growlin'
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growling
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growlingly
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growlsome
sense: Terms derived from growl (verb)
word: growly