Archaic or dialectal term meaning gruesome, horrible, or causing fear and disgust.
Possibly an alternate or dialectal form related to 'gruesome' (from Scandinavian 'grue' meaning to shudder). The relationship between 'grow-' and this meaning is unclear but may relate to something that grows or develops in an ugly way.
This word illustrates how regional dialects create their own variations—'growsome' was someone's local way of saying 'gruesome,' and these dialectal versions are gold for historical linguists.
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