grame

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

grame (grām), noun.
1.  (archaic) anger
2.  (archaic) sorrow, harm, misery

Etymology:  Old English grama, angry, fierce, hostile; old Norse grimmr.  'Grim' shares similar origins.

"Then said Gawaine, thou avauntest thee greatly and speakest proud words, I counsel thee for all thy boast that thou make thee ready, and take thy gear to thee, to-fore greater grame fall to thee."
  - Sir Thomas Malory, "Le Morte d'Arthur"

"Lo, such a lucre is in this lusty game,
A mannes mirth it will turn all to grame,"
  - Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale"

Comments

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

A rather broad-spectrum word there.

---L.

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

Yeah that did seem odd. The word origins all seem to refer to anger, but the usage examples lean heavily toward definition 2.

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

A fun word to say out loud for the first time!