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. rcófan 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