gruel

[groo-uhl] Example Sentences Origin

gru·el

[groo-uhl]
noun
a light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling meal, especially oatmeal, in water or milk.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French, Old French, equivalent to gru- (< Germanic; see grout) + -el diminutive suffix
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Gruel is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Example Sentences
  • He recalls the cup of thin gruel at mealtime, a soup so watered down that he could count the grains of rice.
  • The other staple of their existence is a gruel made from the sago palm.
  • In the end, the nourishing material far outweighs the thinner gruel.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
gruel (ˈɡruːəl)
 
n
a drink or thin porridge, made by boiling meal, esp oatmeal, in water or milk
 
[C14: from Old French, of Germanic origin; see grout]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

gruel
1199, from O.Fr. gruel, from Frank. *grut (cf. M.Du. grute "coarse meal, malt;" M.H.G. gruz "grain"); gruelling "exhausting, punishing," first recorded 1891, from late 18c. slang get one's gruel "receive one's punishment."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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