GRUFF
gruff, hoarse, husky
(adjective) deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion; “gruff voices”; “the dog’s gruff barking”; “hoarse cries”; “makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky”- Virgil Thomson
crusty, curmudgeonly, gruff, ill-humored, ill-humoured
(adjective) brusque and surly and forbidding; “crusty remarks”; “a crusty old man”; “his curmudgeonly temper”; “gruff manner”; “a gruff reply”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
gruff (comparative gruffer, superlative gruffest)
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
hoarse-voiced.
Verb
gruff (third-person singular simple present gruffs, present participle gruffing, simple past and past participle gruffed)
To speak gruffly.
Source: Wiktionary
Gruff, a. [Compar. Gruffer (; superl. Gruffest.] Etym: [D. grof; akin
to G. grob, OHG. gerob, grob, Dan. grov, Sw. grof, perh. akin to AS.
rcĂłfan to break, Z. reavc, rupture, g- standing for the AS. prefix
ge-, Goth. ga-.]
Definition: Of a rough or stern manner, voice, or countenance; sour; surly;
severe; harsh. Addison.
Gruff, disagreeable, sarcastic remarks. Thackeray.
– Gruff"ly, adv.
– Gruff"ness, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition