Grizzle
/ˈɡrɪz.əl/noun
To become gray or streaked with gray, or to complain in a whining way.
Did you know?English grizzle is historically tied to a root meaning “gray,” the same ancient color-word family behind several words for pale, ash-like, or silvered things in Germanic languages.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰreys-
“to be gray or to shine gray-white”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*grīsaz
“gray, gray-haired”
Old English
OE
grǣg
“gray”
Middle English
ME
griselen
“to become gray; to be streaked with gray”
Modern English
English
grizzle
“to become gray; to complain in a fretful, whining way”