gruel
A thin, watery porridge, formerly eaten primarily by the poor and the illA thin, watery porridge, formerly eaten primarily by the poor and the ill.
» Rice gruel is easy to digest.
Рисовая каша легко переваривается.
Meaning
5 senses(countable, uncountable)A thin, watery porridge, formerly eaten primarily by the poor and the ill.
Grütze, Schleimsuppe, Mehlsuppe
ка́ша, ка́шицаkášica
ка́шаkáša
a thin porridge (usually oatmeal or cornmeal)
(countable, uncountable)Punishment.
(countable, uncountable)Something that lacks substance.
thin gruel
(UK, countable, slang, uncountable)Semen.
(US, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable)Sentimental poetry.
Examples
8 sentencesRice gruel is easy to digest.
ruРисовая каша легко переваривается.
When he was young, he was poor and had to live on rice gruel.
Do you want gruel?
Yes, bring me gruel.
There is not enough gruel.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English gruel, gruwel, greuel, growel (“meal or flour made from beans, lentilsFrom Middle English gruel, gruwel, greuel, growel (“meal or flour made from beans, lentils, etc.”), from Old French gruel (“coarse meal; > French gruau”), from Medieval Latin grutellum, diminutive of Medieval Latin grutum (“flour; meal”), from a Germanic source, likely Old English grūt (“meal; grout”) or perhaps Frankish *grūt; both from Proto-Germanic *grūtiz (“ground material; grit”). Compare Dutch gruit, Middle Low German grūt, Middle High German grūz, German Grütze (“grout”). Related also to English groats, grit.
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Forms
plural: gruelsSynonyms
53 synonymsWord family
7 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable