Plural of gruel; multiple bowls or servings of thin, watery porridge typically served to the poor, ill, or imprisoned.
From Middle Dutch 'gruwel' and Old French 'gruel', originally a type of grain porridge. The word traveled through trade routes from Low Countries to English by medieval times.
Gruel appears constantly in Victorian literature (Oliver Twist's famous 'Please, sir, I want some more') because it represents the absolute minimum food society would grudgingly provide to the powerless!
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