gruel

== English == === Etymology 1 === From Middle English gruel, gruwel, greuel, growel (“meal or flour made from beans, lentils, etc.”), from Old French gruel (“coarse meal; > French gruau”), from Medieval Latin grutellum, diminutive of Medieval Latin grutum (“flour; meal”), from a Germanic source, likely Old English grūt (“meal; grout”) or perhaps Frankish *grūt; both from Proto-Germanic *grūtiz (“ground material; grit”). Compare Dutch gruit, Middle Low German grūt, Middle High German grūz, German Grütze (“grout”). Related also to English groats, grit. ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /ˈɡɹuːəl/, (also) /ɡɹuːl/, /ɡɹʊəl/ Rhymes: -uːəl, -uːl, -ʊəl ==== Noun ==== gruel (countable and uncountable, plural gruels) A thin, watery porridge, formerly eaten primarily by the poor and the ill. Coordinate terms: congee, oatmeal, porridge, skilly Punishment. Synonyms: castigation, punition; see also Thesaurus:punishment Something that lacks substance. thin gruel (slang, US, obsolete) Sentimental poetry. (slang, British) Semen. Synonyms: ejaculate, spunk; see also Thesaurus:semen ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== groat, groats grit, grits grout ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From the noun above. ==== Verb ==== gruel (third-person singular simple present gruels, present participle (US) grueling or (UK) gruelling, simple past and past participle (US) grueled or (UK) gruelled) (transitive) To exhaust, use up, disable. (transitive) To punish. (Can we add an example for this sense?) Synonyms: castigate, penalize; see also Thesaurus:punish (slang, British) Ejaculate. ===== Derived terms ===== gruelling === References === === Anagrams === Luger, gluer, luger