gruffnessn.
/ˈɡrʌfnɪs/ The condition or quality of being gruff.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [noun] > surliness
churlnessa1500
churlishness1528
carlishness1552
surliness1587
insuavity1624
gruffness1691
chuffiness1731
bearishness1740
beardom1840
gruffiness1865
1691 in F. Atterbury Epistolary Corr. (1783) I. 17 No gruffness, I beseech you; use them civily, and stick to your point.
1799 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1800) 3 135 I pray that your gruffness aside may be laid, While you deign to partake of our prog.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits viii. 133 You shall find in the common people [of England] a surly indifference, sometimes gruffness and ill temper.
1880 ‘V. Lee’ Stud. 18th Cent. Italy iv. ii. 154 He..began to treat his clerk with the most insulting gruffness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.1691