EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN noun a small, silvery food fish, Leuresthes tenuis, of southern California, that spawns at high tide in wet sand. Origin of grunion 1915–20; probably < Spanish gruñon grunter, derivative of gruñir to grunt < Latin grunnīre
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for grunion Historical Examples of grunion British Dictionary definitions for grunion noun a Californian marine teleost fish, Leuresthes tenuis, that spawns on beaches: family Atherinidae (silversides) Word Origin for grunion
C20: probably from Spanish
gruñón a grunter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for grunion n.
1917, from American Spanish
gruñon "grunting fish," from grunir "to grunt," from Latin grunnire, from Greek gryzein "to grunt," from gry "a grunt." The unrelated American fish called the grunt is "so called from the noise they make when taken."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper