grizzle (2009-05-01)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: ['gri-zêl]

Definition: Streaks of graying in the hair; a fit of resentful grumbling, a sulking mood.

Usage: You shouldn't let grizzly hair grizzle you; there are plenty of remedies on the shelf of the pharmacy. Of course, grizzly bears and grizzly people make distinctly different impressions despite sharing today's attribute. A drizzle of grizzle in the hair of a human is an elegant reminder of maturity.

Suggested Usage: The adjective from today's word is "grizzly," most frequently associated with the grizzly bears of the north. "Grizzly" simply means streaked or tipped with gray. A grizzly or grizzled man is one whose hair is graying but not yet completely gray. The verb usually refers to bringing on a bad mood ("His off-color remarks grizzled all the women in the office") but it can also refer to the process of graying.

Etymology: The philosophical question of the day is: what do grizzly bears have in common with perfume? It is not the aroma but the etymology. Today's word comes from the French "grisaille," a style of painting in shades of gray that resembles relief carving in stone. "Grisaille" comes from the French gris "gray." Now, when it comes to amber, the French originally distinguished ambre jaune (yellow amber) from ambre gris (gray amber). "Ambergris," as we now call it, is a grayish, waxy substance secreted by the innards of whales and found floating in the ocean. It is widely used in the manufacture of perfume—and is unrelated to grease.