Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1813-1873
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†GROOSIE, adj. Also groosy, groozie, grouzy, grousy, gruisie. Dirty, greasy, unsavoury (Sc. 1808 Jam.), “having a coarse skin, with a greasy appearance, as if it had not been washed” (Sc. 1825 Jam., groosie). [′gru:zi]Rnf. 1813 G. MacIndoe Wandering Muse 34:
Should auld carle grouzy beard, a' head and shouthers . . . Begin to gape, an glowre, an shake his head.Ayr. 1822 Galt Provost viii.:
Having been for years but, as it were, a breathing lump of mortality, groosy, and oozy and doozy.Slk. 1832 Hogg Queer Book 61:
There sat a grousy monk behind.Rnf. 1837 Crawfurd MSS. XI. 310:
He was a gruisie tautit beast, Aw hair about the breast.Gsw. 1868 J. Young Poems 162:
To whaur the groozie Kelvin crawls into the savoury Clyde.Rnf. 1873 D. Gilmour Pen' Folk 67:
The great groosy-looking fellow looked down on the brown head.
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"Groosie adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/groosie>
