Where does “gruffly” come from?
Gruffly comes from English gruff, from Middle Dutch grof and Old Dutch grof, from Proto-Germanic grubaz and galīkaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European līg- and ḱóm.
gruffly (English): In a gruff manner
Ancestry of “gruffly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | gruff | having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and... |
| 2 | Dutch | grof | rough, coarse; rude; extreme, gross, grave |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | grof | thick; large, great; course, rough |
| 4 | Old Dutch | grof | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *grob | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | grubaz | coarse, rough |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gʰrewbʰ- | — |