Grutch

//ɡɹʌt͡ʃ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A complaint.

    "In it he melted lead for bullets, To shoot at foes, and sometimes pullets; To whom he bore so fell a grutch, He ne'er gave quarter t' any such."

Verb
  1. 1
    To murmur, complain. intransitive

    ""But I am a man who may grutch and grumble, but when I have set my face to do a thing I will not turn my back upon it until it be done.""

  2. 2
    To grudge. obsolete

    "But that their natures bad appeard in both: For both did at their second Sister grutch"

Example

More examples

""But I am a man who may grutch and grumble, but when I have set my face to do a thing I will not turn my back upon it until it be done.""

Etymology

The verb is from Middle English grucchen (attested since c. 1200), from Old French grouchier (“to grumble”), of unknown origin, perhaps from Germanic, and likely of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Frankish *grōtijan (“to accuse, yell at, make cry, scold”). The noun is from Middle English grucche, from the verb; it is attested since about 1400. See also grudge, grouch, grouse.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.