† grimn.
Obsolete.
Grimness, fury, rage.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > [noun]
foamc900
wrethec950
woodnessc1000
eyec1175
wrathc1175
grim13..
ragingc1300
ragec1325
furyc1374
fiercetya1382
fiercenessc1384
wrotha1400
grindellaikc1400
rasedheadc1450
furor1477
windc1485
furiousnessc1500
enrage1502
furiosity1509
passion1524
ourningc1540
enragement1596
enragedness1611
transportation1617
emportment1663
madness1663
foaming1709
infuriation1848
13.. Sir Beues 1880 (MS. A) Thus beginneth grim to growe.
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 50 Þei were a-grisen of his gryme & wende gref þolie.
c1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 1661 To him he stirt, with birful grim, His bow and arwes reft he him.
c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. cxxxviii. xiii The Sarasyns also he slewe with muche gryme.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7770 Then the grekes with grym there gedurt þere hertes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
grimadj.adv.
/ɡrɪm/, U.S. /ɡrɪm/ A. adj.
1. absolute.a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 369 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 106 He bure a lyon as lord..Of pure gold was ye ground quhar ye grym hovit.1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 4465 The feind ressaue that graceles grim!c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 880 Hit [fyre] gird from the grym with so gret hete.† b. Fiercely angry. Obsolete.
a. Of persons or animals: Fierce, cruel, savage or harsh in disposition or action. Also, in weaker sense, daring, determined, bold. Occasionally const. with, against, or with dat. (Now merged in sense A. 4.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > [adjective]
grimlyc893
retheeOE
grim971
bitterOE
bremec1175
grillc1175
grimfula1240
cruel1297
sturdy1297
fiercea1300
fellc1300
boistousa1387
felonousc1386
savagea1393
bestiala1398
bremelya1400
felona1400
hetera1400
cursedc1400
wicked14..
vengeablec1430
wolvishc1430
unnatural?1473
inhuman1481
brutisha1513
cruent1524
felonish1530
mannish1530
abominate1531
lionish1549
boarish?1550
truculent?c1550
unhumanc1550
lion-like1556
beastly1558
orped1567
raw?1573
tigerish?1573
unmanlike1579
boisterous1581
savaged1583
tiger-like1587
yond1590
truculental1593
savage wild1595
tigerous1597
inhumane1598
Neronian1598
immane1599
Phalarical1602
ungentle1603
feral1604
savagious1605
fierceful1607
Dionysian1608
wolvy1611
Hunnish1625
lionly1631
tigerly1633
savage-hearted1639
brutal1641
feroce1641
ferocious1646
asperous1650
ferousa1652
wolfish1674
tiger1763
savage-fierce1770
Tartar1809
Tartarly1821
Neroic1851
tigery1859
Neronic1864
unmannish1867
inhumanitarian1947
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > cruelty > [adjective]
wrothc893
retheeOE
hateleOE
grim971
hardOE
cruel1297
despitousc1374
savagea1393
fadea1400
hetera1400
keen?c1425
vengeablec1430
despiteful1488
unmanfula1500
despiteous?1510
cruent1524
felonish1530
Herodian1581
felly1583
savaged1583
Neronian1598
savagious1605
Dionysian1608
black-blooded1771
atrocious1772
Neroic1851
Neronic1864
971 Blickl. Hom. 63 Ne þearf he..wenan..þæs freondes þe hine æfre of þæs grimman deofles gewealdum alesan mæge.
OE Beowulf 121 Wiht unhælo, grim ond grædig, gearo sona wæs, reoc ond reþe.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8246 He. Wass ifell mann wiþþ alle..& grimme wiþþ þe leode.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 205 Sech hu feole þe grimme wrestlere of helle braid upon his hupe.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 466/164 Giwes weren proute and grimme.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 145 Þe houndes of þat londe beeþ so greete, so grym, and stronge þat þey þroweþ doun boles and sleeþ lyouns.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11613 Iesus..lighted of his moder kne, And stod a-pon þaa bestes grim.
c1430 Hymns Virg. 52 Quod Dauid, ‘we spoken of oon so grym Þat schulde breke þe brasen ȝatis’.
c1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 230 The Jewys ageyn the were grym & grylle.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. ix. 108 And fer out fra my cavern did espy The gryme Ciclopes.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iii. v. 55 The first people we saw were two grim and stout Salvages.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi viii. §2. 411 The shrill voice of this commanding fowl [sc. the Cock], will keep in aw the grimme and fierce Lion.
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 23 in Justa Edouardo King What the grimme wolf with privy paw Daily devoures apace.
1726 J. Thomson Winter (ed. 2) 45 Bony, and ghaunt, and grim! Assembling Wolves, in torrent Troops, descend.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > [adjective] > furiously angry
grim971
aweddeOE
woodlyc1000
anburstc1275
woodc1275
aburstc1300
eagerc1325
brotheful1330
brothely1330
furiousc1374
wroth as (the) wind1377
throc1380
fella1382
wrothlya1400
grindelc1400
raginga1425
furibund1490
bremit1535
outraging1567
fulminant?1578
wood-like1578
horn-mad1579
snuff1582
woodful1582
maddeda1586
rageful1585
furibundal1593
gary1609
fierce1611
wild1653
infuriate1667
hopping mad1675
maddened1735
sulphureous1751
savage1789
infuriated1796
bouncing mad1834
frenzy1859
furyinga1861
ropeable1870
furied1878
fulminous1886
livid1888
fit to be tied1894
hopping1894
fighting mad1896
tamping mad1946
up the wall1951
ravers1967
971 Blickl. Hom. 25 He him æt his ende grim geweorþeþ and hine gelædeþ on ece forwyrd.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7768 Þa wes swiðe grim Dinabuz touward Mærlin.
13.. K. Alis. 754 Now is the kyng wroth and grym, Who schal beo kyng after him.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 2282 God is þe turned grym; ouþer in word or dede has þou greued him.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 5657 Þe mare he besoght him..Þe langer he wax mare grym.
c1480 (a1400) St. Adrian 39 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 273 Þar-at richt gryme wes þe king.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zeph. ii. 11 The Lorde shall be grymme vpon them, and destroye all the goddes in the londe.
2. Of personal actions, character, feelings, or utterances: (a) fierce, furious, cruel (obsolete or archaic); (b) (in modern use) stern, unrelenting, merciless; resolute, uncompromising.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > [adjective]
reighOE
grima1000
vehementa1492
vehement1548
teeth-grinding1642
sulphury1657
tearing1692
Gothic1695
teeth-gnashinga1711
storming1905
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > fierceness > [adjective]
grimlyc893
wrothc893
reighOE
grima1000
grillc1175
witherc1175
grimfula1240
sturdy1297
wild1297
fiercea1300
man-keenc1300
stoutc1300
cruelc1330
fell?c1335
wicked1375
felonousc1386
felona1400
cursedc1400
runishc1400
keen?c1425
roid?c1425
wolvishc1430
ranishc1450
malicious1485
mankind1519
mannish1530
lionish1549
truculent?c1550
lion-like1556
tigerish?1573
tiger-like1587
truculental1593
Amazonian1595
tigerous1597
feral1604
fierceful1607
efferous1614
lionly1631
tigerly1633
feroce1641
ferocious1646
asperous1650
ferousa1652
blusterous1663
wolfish1674
boarisha1718
savage-fierce1770
Tartar1809
Tartarly1821
wolfy1828
savagerous1832
hawkish1841
tigery1859
attern1868
Hunnish1915
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] > rigidly or relentlessly
grima1000
steely1508
unbowable1537
inexorable1553
unrelenting1590
unrelentless1606
rigid1610
implacable1611
unrelentable1611
unsoftened1645
unconniving1671
ramrod1850
unexcusing1853
unsoftening1857
tough1905
a1000 Battle of Maldon 61 Us sceal ord and ecg ær geseman, grim guðplega, ær we gofol syllon.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 672 Deofell iss..Off grimme. & niþfull herrte.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 80 Þis is anbichede word. an grim word wið alle.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1142 Moni grimne [c1300 Otho grim] reas..þolede ich on folde bi-foren Brutone.
13.. Propr. Sanct. (Vernon MS.) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen 81 304 Þer he dronk wiþ wille grym Bitter atter and eke venym.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 335 Also þis Lanfrank tredede and bylad kyng William conquerour by an holy craft, nouȝt wiþ grym chidynge, but somtyme in good merþe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 471 Again him gaf a batell grim.
c1400 Melayne 678 There was none oþer haylsynge Bot stowte wordes and grym.
c1460 Launfal 461 He smot to Launfal..Well sterne strokes, and well grym.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Nahum i. 6 Who is able to abyde his grymme displeasure?
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. ii. 4 Their deere causes Would to the bleeding, and the grim Alarme Excite the mortified man. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 236 To..open when, and when to close The ridges of grim Warr. View more context for this quotation
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 151 With a grim and surly voice he [Giant Despair] bid them awake.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xv. 233 She sat with grim determination, upright as a darning-needle stuck in a board.
1852 F. W. Robertson Two Lect. Working Classes i. 2 An age of grim earnestness.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola III. xiv. 151 A man's own safety is a god that sometimes makes very grim demands.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xix. 361 Then began a murder grim and great.
1877 M. Oliphant Makers of Florence (ed. 2) xv. 377 The Forentines..prepared to do grim battle for their liberties.
1879 G. W. Kitchin in Encycl. Brit. IX. 549/2 The King's bodyguard, on whom fell ever the grimmest of the fighting, suffered terribly.
3. † b. Of weapons or destructive agencies: Cruel, formidable. to wend to the grim tooth: to have recourse to harsh measures. Obsolete.
a. Of pain, wounds, diseases, painful or destructive conditions: Cruel, terribly severe. Now only in weakened sense: cf. A. 2(b), A. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
grimc900
strongeOE
hardeOE
drearyOE
eileOE
sweerOE
deara1000
bitterOE
tartc1000
smartOE
unridec1175
sharp?c1225
straitc1275
grievousc1290
fellc1330
shrewda1387
snella1400
unsterna1400
vilea1400
importunea1425
ungainc1425
thrallc1430
peisant1483
sore?a1513
weighty1540
heinous?1541
urgent?1542
asperous?1567
dure1567
spiny1586
searching1590
hoara1600
vengible1601
flinty1613
tugging1642
atrocious1733
uncannya1774
severe1774
stern1830
punishing1833
hefty1867
solid1916
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > characteristics > [adjective] > violent or severe
grimc900
strongeOE
grievousc1290
burning1393
acutea1398
maliciousa1398
peracutea1398
sorea1400
wicked14..
malign?a1425
vehement?a1425
malignousc1475
angrya1500
cacoethe?1541
eager?1543
virulent1563
malignant1568
raging1590
roaring1590
furious1597
grassant1601
hearty1601
sharp1607
main1627
generous1632
perperacute1647
serious1655
ferine1666
bad1705
severe1725
unfavourable1782
grave1888
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. xiv. 50 Þa com..mycel wol & grim ofer þa gehwyrfdon modes men.
971 Blickl. Hom. 213 Wæs se winter..to þæs grim þæt manig man his feorh for cyle gesealde.
11.. Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1005 (Laud) On þyssum geare wæs se mycla hungor geond Angelcynn swilce nan man ær ne gemunde swa grimne.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1443 Crist..Drah harrd. & hefiȝ pine inoh. Þurrh fife grimme wundess.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 155 He..preyden Cristes hore, That he [wolde] turnen him Vt of that yuel that was so grim!
c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1561 For yef the synne be gret or grym.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 983 Mo than fyfty had he slayne With gryme wounddes and sare.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 303 Quhilk sall nocht schrink quhair nakit swardis ar drawin..Or for na grym wound other grym or grow.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 907 The dragon..gird him agayne with a grym noyse.
1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid ii. xiv. 110 Many times there is a grim anger in the Hand or Finger.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 170 What if the breath that kindl'd those grim fires Awak'd should blow them into sevenfold rage..? View more context for this quotation
a1716 R. South Serm. Several Occasions (1744) IX. 185 And then, whether it would not be the grimmest dispensation that ever befel him.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iii. xxiii. 110 Wind and weather wax'd so grim.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xiii. 123 ‘This is becoming grim.., ’ said Eugene, in a low voice.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xxi. 11 Now shall beauty to thirst be train'd or hunger's Grim necessity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > [adjective] > of weapons
grim?c1225
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 162 [He] Makeð him swiðe sturne. & went þe grimme toð.
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame ii. 33 With hys grym pawes strong..Me..he hente.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2260 Gedereȝ vp hys grymme tole, Gawayn to smyte.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1696 Ful grymme clawres Þat were croked and kene.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1553 Al hit frayes my flesche þe fyngres so grymme.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur ii. xv Thenne kyng Pellam cauȝt in his hand a grym wepen.
4.
a. Formidable in appearance or demeanour; of stern, forbidding or harsh aspect, suggesting a cruel or unbending disposition. †Also, in weaker sense, hard-featured, ugly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > [adjective] > sadistic
grim1340
sadistic1892
sadic1897
Neanderthalic1922
Sadean1949
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] > specifically of looks or demeanour
grim1340
stern1390
severe1565
hard-faced1567
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2250 Þe devel þat es grisely and grym, Til hym come.
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 222 A greet cherl & a grym, growen as a tonne.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 212/1 Grym, or sterne.., austerus, rigidus.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 339 The Geaunte..was also so grym a figure that he was dredefull for to be-holde.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. i. 67 A beir skyn of Affrik aboun his weid, Full grym of luik, with dartes kene and rude.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Dan. ii. E A greate ymage, whose fygure was maruelous greate, and his vysage grymme [L. terribilis].
1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 17 Whose face was grimme, and he in blacke yclad.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost ii. i. 256 Then was Venus like her mother, for her father is but grim . View more context for this quotation
1642 J. Denham Sophy iv. 30 He..that dares to die, May laugh at the grim face of law.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 Like their grizly Prince appears his gloomy Race: Grim, ghastly, rugged. View more context for this quotation
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent v. i. 1720 How Pale he looks! How Grim with clotted Blood and those dead Eyes.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. i. 16 It threw a stronger gleam upon the grim and sallow countenance of Barnardine.
1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xx. 153 Norweyan warriors grim.
1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xxi. 154 Vigil, and fast, had worn him grim.
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time II. viii. 98 On their grim features, now The plain unvisored index of the soul.
1838 J. L. Stephens Incidents Trav. Greece, Turkey, Russia 107/1 The commandant, a grim, gaunt-looking figure about fifty.
1862 J. H. Burton Book-hunter 396 Grim and ghastly human figures.
b. of things personified, esp. of death. like grim death: see death n. Phrases 8b.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) Induct. i. 33 Grim death, how foule and loathsome is thine image. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) v. i. 81 Moodie and dull melancholly, Kinsman to grim and comfortlesse dispaire. View more context for this quotation
1635 F. Quarles Emblemes iii. xi. 166 Mine eye Shall scorne grim death, although grim death stand by.
c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 249 Can we look grim death in the face?
1713 J. Addison Cato ii. iv Doubling the native horror of the war And making death more grim.
1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 42 The very winds, Danger's grim playmates, on that precipice Slept.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. ix. 223 People must eat and drink even when the grim monarch is in the house.
c. of looks or aspect.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [adjective] > severe or stern > of expression or manner
sturdy1297
grim1340
stern1390
malicious1485
severe1565
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2233 Ful hydus sightes þai [the devils] sal shew hym Þat his chere sal make grisly and grym.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iii. 44 A man..of a grym chere.
1564 N. Haward tr. Eutropius Briefe Chron. ii. sig. D.viiv After they were dead keping stil theyr grim lokes.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. viii. sig. Kk6 For shame, but more for feare of his grim sight, Downe in her lap she hid her face.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iii. v. sig. F4v I will..Outstare the terror of thy grimme aspect.
1697 J. Evelyn Numismata ix. 306 A grim and crabbed Look.
1823 J. Galt Entail I. iii. 18 Tremendous forms, in warlike attitudes and with grim aspects.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xv. 130 With a grim and ghastly stare.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. i. 20 This city of yours turns a grim look on me just here.
d. absol. or quasi-n. = grimness n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > strictness > [noun] > severity or sternness > of expression
grimness1565
sternness1590
hardness1598
severity1711
grim1845
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [noun] > of aspect or expression
grimness1565
sternness1590
severity1711
grim1845
1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches II. 306 Faces settling into permanent grim.
5.
a. transferred. Of things, scenes, situations, etc.: Harsh or repellent of aspect; uninviting.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > unseemliness or unbecomingness > [adjective] > uninviting
untemperinga1616
forbidding1712
grim1820
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1069 Þ e mone may þer of acroche no myȝte To spotty, ho is of body to grym.]
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. v. 170 The very crags and scaurs seemed higher and grimmer.
1839 tr. A. de Lamartine Trav. in East 78/1 On slopes, somewhat less grim, vine-plants are seen.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun I. xxv. 282 In a grim, old, vaulted apartment.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe ii. 81 The great Oberland peaks..stand round in a grim circle.
1877 W. Black Green Pastures (1878) xxxii. 260 We bade farewell to this gay haunt of pleasure and set out for grimmer latitudes.
b. absol. or quasi-n.
ΚΠ
1840 J. Galt Demon of Destiny 73 I..often wonder'd in the grim of night, To what dread land the dead-man did invite.
6. Of stern or sinister import.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adjective] > inauspicious > of aspect threatening misfortune
ominousa1593
sinister1797
stark1847
grim1873
1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl I. 4 A monarch yesterday, to-day a scape-goat, in grimmest ironic symbol of all human histories.
1888 A. Jessopp Coming of Friars ii. 81 A saying that had a grim truth in it.
7. Of laughter, jests, humour: Stern, implying no relenting or softening. In later use often: Dealing with ghastly or painful subjects.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > [adjective] > other types of laughter
grim1641
submarine1917
1641 J. Milton Animadversions Pref. 3 Such a grim laughter, as may appeare at the same time in an austere visage.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. iii. 56 One of those grim smiles, of which it was impossible to say whether it meant good or harm.
1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger ii. v. 106 Before the crowd had quite ended their grim pastime.
1850 T. Carlyle Latter-day Pamphlets iv. 4 Our friend in grim banter would reply: ‘Reform a Popedom,—hardly’.
1868 H. H. Milman Ann. St. Paul's Cathedral xiv. 352 One of those grim pleasantries in which Oliver took delight.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) III. xii. 162 Mingled with all this there is a certain element of grim merriment.
B. adv.
(Old English grimme) or quasi-adv. In a grim manner or mood; fiercely, savagely, horribly. In later use only to look grim, where grim is perhaps adjectival.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > [adverb]
grimc893
sternlyc897
bremeOE
bitterlyc1000
etelichec1175
heterlya1225
felonly1303
asperlyc1314
fellc1330
fellyc1330
cruentlyc1380
beastlyc1390
unmanlyc1454
felonmentc1470
cruelly1487
inhumanly1490
unkindfully?1534
boarishlya1563
savagely1563
tiger-like1576
unhumanly1586
inhumanlike1595
inhumanely1598
immanely1612
savagiously1625
wolvishly1628
beastlilya1631
brutisha1645
truculently1654
tigerously1698
brutally1749
tigerishly1878
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > fierceness > [adverb]
grimc893
grimly971
bremeOE
reighlyOE
witherc1200
felonly1303
asperlyc1314
fellc1330
fellyc1330
fiercelya1375
sturdilyc1374
wickedlya1375
sternly1398
runishlyc1400
witherlyc1400
felonmentc1470
cruelly1487
blusterously1548
boarishlya1563
tiger-like1576
sternfully1582
mankindly1606
wolvishly1628
truculently1654
tigerously1698
tigerishly1878
c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. ii. §1 Hy him æfter þæm grimme forguldon þone wigcræft þe hy æt him geleornodon.
OE Genesis 1275 He..þohte, forgripan gumcynne grimme and sare.
a1300 E.E. Psalter civ. 18 Irne thurgh-yhode his saule ful grim.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 133 Whan þe fader wist þe sonne wild werre on him, I blame him not if him list turne ageyn fulle grim.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14668 Þai loked on him lath and grim.
14.. Siege Jerusalem (1932) 10/165 Þer is no gome in þis [grounde] þat is grym wounded.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 3129 He loked on her al grymme As he wode wroth wer.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 53 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 He grat grysly grym and gaif a gret ȝowle.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. i. sig. B2 So stood Sir Scudamour, when this he heard, Ne word he had to speake for great dismay, But lookt on Glauce grim . View more context for this quotation
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses xxiv. 293 Round about he lookt upon us grim.
Compounds
grim-blue, grim frowning, grim-grinning, grim-rising, grim-set, grim-white adjs.
ΚΠ
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiijv (Thus chides she death) Grim-grinning ghost. View more context for this quotation
1787 R. Burns Poems (new ed.) 276 Thy pond'rous wall and massy bar, Grim-rising o'er the rugged rock.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ix. 68/1 Round some Schreckhorn, as yet grim-blue, would the eddying vapour gather..in the clear sunbeam, your Schreckhorn stood smiling grim-white.
1881 H. Phillips tr. L. C. A. von Chamisso Faust 15 Steep, grim-frowning, rugged chasms.
1885 W. J. Fitzpatrick Life T. N. Burke I. 20 (note) The grim-set, clenched aspect of the faces.
Draft additions June 2007
grim reaper n. (also with capital initials) death (or a cause of death) personified, typically as a cloaked skeleton wielding a large scythe; chiefly with the; cf. reaper n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > personified or as an agent
deathOE
dragon?a1513
stinger1552
stretch-legc1560
king of terrors1610
divorcer?1611
reaper1650
raw-bone1784
Small-Back1823
grim reaper1847
the great or last enemy1885
scytheman1909
1847 Evening Courier (Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory) 8 Mar. Famine, the grim Reaper, is gathering a horrid human harvest, amid the blight and devastation of nature.
1910 E. Ferber in Everybody's Nov. 608/1 ‘If I ain't there, you'll know that I passed away during the night, and you can telephone the clerk to break in my door.’ The Grim Reaper spared him, and Sam came, and was introduced to the family, and ate.
2004 Loaded Mar. 156/1 The only thing separating a BASE jumper from the grim reaper making a premature visit is a parachute.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
grimv.
/ɡrɪm/, U.S. /ɡrɪm/ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > manifestation of anger > show anger [verb (intransitive)] > look angry
starea1275
grima1400
to look black1608
to speak or look daggers1834
a1400–50 Alexander 4653 Ne nothire gesse we vs godis ne grym at oure driȝtin.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 34 Thenne grimmed he, and was angry on me.
1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. ijv Now she lawheth to one, and she grymmeth to other.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 575/1 I grimme, I make a foule countenaunce, je grongne.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 303 Quhilk sall nocht schrink quhair nakit swardis ar drawin..Or for na grym wound other grym or grow.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur viii. lvi Black from a brazen flag, with outstretched wings Grimmed the dread Raven of the Runic kings. Note. Grimm'd, from the verb grimmen.]
2. transitive. To make grim or fierce; to cause to look grim; to give a grim look to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > fierceness > make fierce [verb (transitive)]
untame1646
ferocitate1666
grim1710
ferocize1816
1710 Brit. Apollo 24–26 May There Small-Cole one Cries..And looks Ugly and Grimm'd like a Witch.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad iii. 117 Grimm'd by the horrors of the dreadful night, The hosts woke fiercer for the promised fight.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. v. viii. 333 Bailly and his Feuillants,..had to withdraw.. into lurid half-light, grimmed by the shadow of that Red Flag of theirs.
1840 J. Galt Demon of Destiny ii. 13 The sculptured effigies That grim the silence of chivalric aisles.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.13..
adj.adv.c893
v.a1400