I love today’s Word of the Day. I’ve known that gruntle wasn’t the opposite of disgruntle, but it has always amused me to use it as if it was. Now I come to find out that because of “popular usage” I’ve now actually been using it correctly!

gruntle \GRUN-tul\ verb
: to put in a good humor

Example sentence:
“He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.” (P.G. Wodehouse, _The Code of the Woosters_)

Did you know?
“Gruntle” is the result of a mistaken assumption about the verb “disgruntle,” which means “to make ill-humored or discontented.” The prefix “dis-” often means “to do the opposite of,” so people naturally assumed that in order to have a “disgruntle” there must be a “gruntle” with exactly the opposite meaning. But actually, “dis-” doesn’t always work that way — in some rare cases it functions instead as an intensifier. “Disgruntle” developed from this intensifying sense of “dis-” plus “gruntle,” an old word meaning “to grumble.” “Gruntle” began to mean “to make happy” only in the 1920s, when it was assumed to be the antonym of “disgruntle.” By contrast, “disgruntle” has been around since 1682, and the original grumbling “gruntle” dates back to 1589.

Though to be honest, I tend to use “regruntle” because it sounds more ridiculous.