<P> Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first described it as grisley , which could be interpreted as either `` grizzly '' ( i.e. , `` grizzled '' -- that is , with golden and grey tips of the hair ) or `` grisly '' ( `` fear - inspiring '' , now usually `` gruesome '' ) . The modern spelling supposes the former meaning ; even so , naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 as U. horribilis , not for its hair , but for its character . </P>
<P> Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first described it as grisley , which could be interpreted as either `` grizzly '' ( i.e. , `` grizzled '' -- that is , with golden and grey tips of the hair ) or `` grisly '' ( `` fear - inspiring '' , now usually `` gruesome '' ) . The modern spelling supposes the former meaning ; even so , naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 as U. horribilis , not for its hair , but for its character . </P>
where did the name grizzly bear come from
where did the name grizzly bear come from
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark