Past tense of grimace; made a facial expression showing pain, disgust, or disapproval.
From French grimacer (to make a face), possibly from Old Norse grimmr (fierce) or Germanic roots. The sense evolved from making fierce or ugly faces to expressing discomfort or negative emotions.
Grimace is one of the few words where the pronunciation changed over time—it used to rhyme with 'image' but eventually shifted to rhyme with 'embraced,' showing how everyday words drift in our mouths.
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