grouse
v.v. to complain or grumble about something, usually in a way that is slightly annoying to others. You use this when someone is unhappy about a small problem.
v. to complain or grumble habitually about trivial matters. Often implies a persistent, low-level dissatisfaction rather than a formal protest.
He spent the whole morning grousing about the cold weather.
The staff often grouse about the lack of free coffee, but they generally enjoy their work environment.
While the soldiers would frequently grouse about the quality of the rations, their morale remained surprisingly high throughout the long winter deployment.
Attested in the 1530s, as grows ("moorhen"), a plural used collectively. The origin of the noun is unknown; the following derivations have been suggested: * From Old French grue (“crane”) (modern French grue) or Medieval Latin gruta (“crane”), both from Latin grūs (“crane”). * Borrowed from Celtic or a different Medieval Latin word. * Imitative of the bird’s call. The verb is derived from the noun.
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly borrowed from Norman groucier, from Old French groucier, grousser (“to grumble, murmur”) [and other forms] (whence grutch (“to complain; to murmur”) and grouch). The further etymology is unknown, but it may be derived from Frankish *grōtijan (“to make cry, scold, rebuke”) or of onomatopoeic origin. The noun is derived from the verb.
Uncertain; possibly from British dialectal groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian (Scotland)), grosh (northeast Lancashire) and groshy (“having thriving vegetation; juicy and tender; of weather: good for vegetation, rainy”) (Lancashire, Yorkshire), grushie (“having thriving vegetation”) (Scotland); from Scots groosh (“excellent, very good”) (Lothian, obsolete), grush (obsolete), grushie, grushy (“growing healthily or lushly; excellent, very good”) (both archaic), from gross (“lacking refinement, coarse; fat; large”) + -ie (suffix meaning ‘rather, somewhat’).
The verb is intransitive and typically takes the preposition 'about' or 'at'.