gräulich
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡʁɔʏ̯lɪç/
Audio: (file) - Hyphenation: gräu‧lich
Etymology 1
From grau (“grey”) + -lich (“-ish”).
Adjective
gräulich (strong nominative masculine singular gräulicher, comparative gräulicher, superlative am gräulichsten)
- greyish (somewhat grey)
Declension
Positive forms of gräulich
Comparative forms of gräulich
Superlative forms of gräulich
Etymology 2
From Middle High German griulich, griuwelich, from griuwel, griule, griul (modern Gräuel (“horror, atrocity”)). Compare Dutch gruwelijk; also related with English gruesome.
The spelling greulich, which formerly distinguished this word from etymology 1, was abolished in order to adjust it to related words with -au- (like Grauen).
Alternative forms
Adjective
gräulich (strong nominative masculine singular gräulicher, comparative gräulicher, superlative am gräulichsten)
Usage notes
- The spelling gräulich has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In the affected areas, the previous spelling (greulich) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.
Declension
Positive forms of gräulich
Comparative forms of gräulich
Superlative forms of gräulich
Related terms
References
- “gräulich, grau, dunkel” in Duden online
- “gräulich, abscheulich, schrecklich” in Duden online
- “gräulich” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache