grizzly
UK[ˈɡrɪzli]US[ˈɡrɪzli]
adj
(of hair or fur) grey or greyish in colour, often with streaks of another colour.
n
a large brown bear with grey-tipped fur, found in north america.
Morpheme Breakdown
grizzl
y
grizzl
to become grey
y
adjective-forming suffix
Etymology
the word 'grizzly' has a journey that intertwines colour and texture. it stems from the middle english 'grisel', an adjective for 'grey', which itself likely entered english from old french, tracing back to a frankish or other germanic source. the core idea of 'grey' was then combined with the productive english adjectival suffix '-y', literally creating the meaning 'greyish' or 'sprinkled with grey'. this descriptive term was later applied metaphorically to the large north american bear, ursus arctos horribilis, due to the characteristic silver-tipped, grizzled appearance of its fur, which gives it a frosted, greyish look.
Analysis
Structure: grizzl (to become grey) + y (adjective-forming suffix)
the morpheme 'grizzl' originates from the middle english 'grisel', meaning 'grey', which is of old french origin, possibly from a germanic root. its functional role is as the core root conveying the concept of greyness. the morpheme 'y' is a native english suffix from old english '-ig', used to form adjectives meaning 'characterized by' or 'full of'.
Examples
the old sailor had a long, grizzly beard.
we watched a massive grizzly catch salmon from the river.
his hair turned a grizzly shade of grey after the ordeal.