Grudging

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹʌ.dʒɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a slow or reluctant willingness to provide something while harboring feelings of resentment or obligation, and doing so with a lack of enthusiasm
2. Given, done, or allowed with hesitation and unwillingness, often showing minimal interest or warmth
3. Performed or granted with an expression of resistance or dissatisfaction, lacking eagerness or full approval

Etymology: Grudging is the participle of "grudge," and the verb's roots lie in a sound. Its Old French ancestor, "grouchier" or "groucier," meant "to murmur" or "grumble," and it is probably imitative, shaped by the noise of a complaining throat. Middle High German "grogezen" meant "to howl, wail," and German "grocken" meant "to croak," so the family of words is built around the sounds of protest and discontent. Old Norse "krytja" ("to murmur") and Old High German "grunzen" ("to grunt") belong to the same circle of grumbling noises. English picked up the root in the Middle English "grucchen," meaning to murmur, complain, feel envy, or begrudge. The modern verb "grudge" arrived in the fifteenth century as a variant of "grutch," which is younger than "begrudge." Over time the sense moved from audible complaint toward inward resentment, and the adjective now describes help or consent given only with visible reluctance, the grumble still audible beneath the compliance.