Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1826-1988
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GRUMLIE, -Y, adj.1, n.
I. adj. Grumbling, irritable, sullen, surly (Ork., Abd., em., sm. and s.Sc. 1955). Also fig. of the sea. Of weather: broken, unsettled, blustery (ne.Sc. 1955).Sc. 1826 Sir P. Spens in Child Ballads (1886) II. 22:
Till cold and watry grew the wind, And grumly grew the sea.Abd. 1868 W. Shelley Wayside Flowers 109:
I canna thole the grumlie laird For a' his routh o' gear.Dmf. 1894 J. Cunningham Broomieburn v.:
Dogs are no' like folk . . . ane day kind, the next ane grumlie.Bnff. 1895 N. Roy Horseman's Word vi.:
His face may be sour and his answers grumly.Slg. 1902 W. C. Paterson Echoes 60:
Though ne'er sae grumlie be the nicht.Abd. 1909 C. Murray Hamewith 95:
An' you're like bobbin' cork, it's true, Wi' temper grumlie as the sea.Bnff. 1939 J. M. Caie Hills & Sea 3:
An hine i' the mist, at the fit o' the crags, The sea roars, grumly an' dour.
II. n. A grumbling, irritable person.m.Sc. 1988 Dilys Rose in Joy Hendry Chapman 53 89:
Still, you would have to be an out-and-out 'grumly' not to find Light Hearts affecting and funny - and surely right in the things for which it expresses solicitude.
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"Grumlie adj.1, n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/grumlie_adj1_n>
