Gritty means feeling as though tiny hard grains are in it. Gritty sand, a gritty texture, gritty eyes.
In food it is a fault — gritty spinach means it was not washed enough. Of eyes it is a symptom of dryness. Figuratively, a gritty drama is unglamorous and unflinching, and gritty of a person means determined. Note grit, meaning small hard particles.
1adjectivegrittyFeeling as though tiny hard grains are in it.
“The wind blew sand into our sandwiches, which made them gritty.”
2adjectiveunglamorousUnglamorous and unflinching.
“The film is a gritty portrait of life on a poor housing estate.”
gritty is a quality of texture.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰrewd-
Proto-Germanic
*greutą
Proto-West Germanic
*greut
Old English
greot
Middle English
grete
English
grit
English, today
gritty
From grit + -y. grit With early modern vowel shortening, from Middle English grete, griet, from Old English greot, from Proto-West Germanic greut, from Proto-Germanic greutą. Compare grist.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA