Grain definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GRAIN, n. [L. granum.]
1. Any small hard mass; as a grain of sand or gravel. Hence,
2. A single seed or hard seed of a plant, particularly of those kinds whose seeds are used for food of man or beast. This is usually inclosed in a proper shell or covered with a husk,and contains the embryo of a new plant. Hence,
3. Grain, without a definitive, signifies corn in general, or the fruit of certain plants which constitutes the chief food of man and beast, as wheat, rye, barley, oats and maiz.
4. A minute particle.
5. A small weight, or the smallest weight ordinarily used, being the twentieth part of the scruple in apothecaries' weight, and the twenty fourth of a pennyweight troy.
6. A component part of stones and metals.
7. The veins or fibers of wood or other fibrous substance; whence, cross-grained, and against the grain.
8. The body or substance of wood as modified by the fibers.
Hard box, and linden of a softer grain.
9. The body or substance of a thing considered with respect to the size, form or direction of the constituent particles; as stones of a fine grain.
The tooth of a sea-horse,contains a curdled grain.
10. Any thing proverbially small; a very small particle or portion; as a grain of wit or of common sense.
Neglect not to make use of any grain of grace.
11. Dyed or stained substance.
All in a robe of darkest grain.
12. The direction of the fibers of wood or other fibrous substance; hence the phrase, against the grain, applied to animals, that is, against their natural tempers.
13. The heart or temper; as brothers not united in grain.
14. The form of the surface of any thing with respect to smoothness or roughness; state of the grit of any body composed of grains; as sandstone of a fine grain.
15. A tine, prong or spike.
A grain of allowance, a small allowance or indulgence; a small portion to be remitted; something above or below just weight.
To dye in grain, is to dye in the raw material, as wool or silk before it is manufactured.
GRAIN, v.i. To yield fruit.
GRAIN, or GRANE, for groan. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a relatively small granular particle of a substance; "a grain of sand"; "a grain of sugar"
2: foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses [syn: grain, food grain, cereal]
3: the side of leather from which the hair has been removed
4: a weight unit used for pearls or diamonds: 50 mg or 1/4 carat [syn: grain, metric grain]
5: 1/60 dram; equals an avoirdupois grain or 64.799 milligrams
6: 1/7000 pound; equals a troy grain or 64.799 milligrams
7: dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian corn [syn: grain, caryopsis]
8: a cereal grass; "wheat is a grain that is grown in Kansas"
9: the smallest possible unit of anything; "there was a grain of truth in what he said"; "he does not have a grain of sense"
10: the direction, texture, or pattern of fibers found in wood or leather or stone or in a woven fabric; "saw the board across the grain"
11: the physical composition of something (especially with respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a substance); "breadfruit has the same texture as bread"; "sand of a fine grain"; "fish with a delicate flavor and texture"; "a stone of coarse grain" [syn: texture, grain] v
1: thoroughly work in; "His hands were grained with dirt" [syn: ingrain, grain]
2: paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood
3: form into grains [syn: granulate, grain]
4: become granular [syn: granulate, grain]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, partly from Anglo-French grain cereal grain, from Latin granum; partly from Anglo-French graine seed, kermes, from Latin grana, plural of granum — more at corn Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) obsolete a single small hard seed (2) a seed or fruit of a cereal grass ; caryopsis b. the seeds or fruits of various food plants including the cereal grasses and in commercial and statutory usage other plants (as the soybean) c. plants producing grain 2. a. (1) a small hard particle or crystal (2) any of the particles produced in a photographic material by its development; also the size of such grains in the aggregate (3) an individual crystal in a metal b. a minute portion or particle c. the least amount possible <a grain of truth> 3. a. kermes or a scarlet dye made from it b. cochineal or a brilliant scarlet dye made from it c. a fast dye d. archaic color, tint 4. a. a granulated surface or appearance b. the outer or hair side of a skin or hide 5. a unit of weight based on the weight of a grain of wheat taken as an average of the weight of grains from the middle of the ear — see weight table 6. a. the stratification of the wood fibers in a piece of wood b. a texture due to constituent particles or fibers <the grain of a rock> c. the direction of threads in cloth 7. tactile quality 8. a. natural disposition ; temper <lying goes against my grain> b. a basic or characteristic quality c. a prevalent ideology or convention <teaching against the grain> • grained adjective • grainless adjective II. verb Date: 1530 transitive verb 1. ingrain 2. to form into grains ; granulate 3. to paint in imitation of the grain of wood or stone 4. to feed with grain intransitive verb to become granular ; granulate • grainer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a fruit or seed of a cereal. 2 a (collect.) wheat or any allied grass used as food, corn. b (collect.) their fruit. c any particular species of corn. 3 a a small hard particle of salt, sand, etc. b a discrete particle or crystal, usu. small, in a rock or metal. c a piece of solid propellant for use in a rocket engine. 4 the smallest unit of weight in the troy system (equivalent to 1/480 of an ounce), and in the avoirdupois system (equivalent to 1/437.5 of an ounce). 5 the smallest possible quantity (not a grain of truth in it). 6 a roughness of surface. b Photog. a granular appearance on a photograph or negative. 7 the texture of skin, wood, stone, etc.; the arrangement and size of constituent particles. 8 a a pattern of lines of fibre in wood or paper. b lamination or planes of cleavage in stone, coal, etc. 9 nature, temper, tendency. 10 a hist. kermes or cochineal, or dye made from either of these. b poet. dye; colour. --v. 1 tr. paint in imitation of the grain of wood or marble. 2 tr. give a granular surface to. 3 tr. dye in grain. 4 tr. & intr. form into grains. 5 tr. remove hair from (hides). Phrases and idioms: against the grain contrary to one's natural inclination or feeling. grain-leather leather dressed with grain-side out. grain-side the side of a hide on which the hair was. grains of Paradise capsules of a W. African plant (Aframomum melegueta), used as a spice and a drug. in grain thorough, genuine, by nature, downright, indelible. Derivatives: grained adj. (also in comb.). grainer n. grainless adj. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L granum

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grain Grain, v. & n. See Groan. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grain Grain, n. [F. grain, L. granum, grain, seed, small kernel, small particle. See Corn, and cf. Garner, n., Garnet, Gram the chick-pea, Granule, Kernel.] 1. A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food. 2. The fruit of certain grasses which furnish the chief food of man, as corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., or the plants themselves; -- used collectively. Storehouses crammed with grain. --Shak. 3. Any small, hard particle, as of sand, sugar, salt, etc.; hence, any minute portion or particle; as, a grain of gunpowder, of pollen, of starch, of sense, of wit, etc. I . . . with a grain of manhood well resolved. --Milton. 4. The unit of the English system of weights; -- so called because considered equal to the average of grains taken from the middle of the ears of wheat. 7,000 grains constitute the pound avoirdupois, and 5,760 grains the pound troy. A grain is equal to .0648 gram. See Gram. 5. A reddish dye made from the coccus insect, or kermes; hence, a red color of any tint or hue, as crimson, scarlet, etc.; sometimes used by the poets as equivalent to Tyrian purple. All in a robe of darkest grain. --Milton. Doing as the dyers do, who, having first dipped their silks in colors of less value, then give' them the last tincture of crimson in grain. --Quoted by Coleridge, preface to Aids to Reflection. 6. The composite particles of any substance; that arrangement of the particles of any body which determines its comparative roughness or hardness; texture; as, marble, sugar, sandstone, etc., of fine grain. Hard box, and linden of a softer grain. --Dryden. 7. The direction, arrangement, or appearance of the fibers in wood, or of the strata in stone, slate, etc. Knots, by the conflux of meeting sap, Infect the sound pine and divert his grain Tortive and errant from his course of growth. --Shak. 8. The fiber which forms the substance of wood or of any fibrous material. 9. The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on that side. --Knight. 10. pl. The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff. 11. (Bot.) A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock. See Grained, a., 4. 12. Temper; natural disposition; inclination. [Obs.] Brothers . . . not united in grain. --Hayward. 13. A sort of spice, the grain of paradise. [Obs.] He cheweth grain and licorice, To smellen sweet. --Chaucer. Against the grain, against or across the direction of the fibers; hence, against one's wishes or tastes; unwillingly; unpleasantly; reluctantly; with difficulty. --Swift.--Saintsbury. A grain of allowance, a slight indulgence or latitude a small allowance. Grain binder, an attachment to a harvester for binding the grain into sheaves. Grain colors, dyes made from the coccus or kermes in sect. Grain leather. (a) Dressed horse hides. (b) Goat, seal, and other skins blacked on the grain side for women's shoes, etc. Grain moth (Zo["o]l.), one of several small moths, of the family Tineid[ae] (as Tinea granella and Butalis cerealella), whose larv[ae] devour grain in storehouses. Grain side (Leather), the side of a skin or hide from which the hair has been removed; -- opposed to flesh side. Grains of paradise, the seeds of a species of amomum. grain tin, crystalline tin ore metallic tin smelted with charcoal. Grain weevil (Zo["o]l.), a small red weevil (Sitophilus granarius), which destroys stored wheat and othar grain, by eating out the interior. Grain worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of the grain moth. See grain moth, above. In grain, of a fast color; deeply seated; fixed; innate; genuine. ``Anguish in grain.'' --Herbert. To dye in grain, to dye of a fast color by means of the coccus or kermes grain [see Grain, n., 5]; hence, to dye firmly; also, to dye in the wool, or in the raw material. See under Dye. The red roses flush up in her cheeks . . . Likce crimson dyed in grain. --Spenser. To go against the grain of (a person), to be repugnant to; to vex, irritate, mortify, or trouble.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grain Grain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grained; p. pr. & vb. n. Graining.] 1. To paint in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc. 2. To form (powder, sugar, etc.) into grains. 3. To take the hair off (skins); to soften and raise the grain of (leather, etc.).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grain Grain, v. i. [F. grainer, grener. See Grain, n.] 1. To yield fruit. [Obs.] --Gower. 2. To form grains, or to assume a granular ferm, as the result of crystallization; to granulate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Grain Grain, n. [See Groin a part of the body.] 1. A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant. [Obs.] --G. Douglas. 2. A tine, prong, or fork. Specifically: (a) One the branches of a valley or of a river. (b) pl. An iron first speak or harpoon, having four or more barbed points. 3. A blade of a sword, knife, etc. 4. (Founding) A thin piece of metal, used in a mold to steady a core.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(grains) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A grain of wheat, rice, or other cereal crop is a seed from it. ...a grain of wheat. ...rice grains. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. Grain is a cereal crop, especially wheat or corn, that has been harvested and is used for food or in trade. ...a bag of grain. ...the best grains. N-MASS 3. A grain of something such as sand or salt is a tiny hard piece of it. ...a grain of sand. N-COUNT • -grained ...coarse-grained salt. COMB in ADJ 4. A grain of a quality is a very small amount of it. There's more than a grain of truth in that. N-SING: N of n 5. The grain of a piece of wood is the direction of its fibres. You can also refer to the pattern of lines on the surface of the wood as the grain. Brush the paint generously over the wood in the direction of the grain. N-SING: the N • -grained ...a hard, heavy, straight-grained wood. COMB in ADJ 6. If you say that an idea or action goes against the grain, you mean that it is very difficult for you to accept it or do it, because it conflicts with your previous ideas, beliefs, or principles. Privatisation goes against the grain of their principle of opposition to private ownership of industry. PHRASE: V inflects

Easton's Bible Dictionary

used, in Amos 9:9, of a small stone or kernel; in Matt. 13:31, of an individual seed of mustard; in John 12:24, 1 Cor. 15:37, of wheat. The Hebrews sowed only wheat, barley, and spelt; rye and oats are not mentioned in Scripture.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gran.

See AGRICULTURE; GARNER.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Seed, kernel, matured ovule. 2. Corn (wheat, rye, oats, barley, maize, etc.), cereals, cereal products. 3. Particle, atom, bit, scrap, jot, whit, mite, ace, iota, tittle, scintilla, trace, spark, shadow, glimmer. 4. Twentieth part of a scruple, twenty-fourth part of a pennyweight. 5. Fibre, texture. 6. Temper, disposition, humor. 7. Dye, tint, color, stain, tinge, hue, shade, tincture.

Moby Thesaurus

abrade, ace, acorn, aftergrass, animus, apply paint, aptitude, atom, atomize, bamboo, barley, beat, bedaub, bedizen, begild, bent, berry, besmear, bias, bird seed, bit, blood, body-build, bran, brand, bray, break up, breccia, brecciate, breed, brush on paint, calcimine, cane, cast, cat food, cereal, cereal plant, character, characteristic, characteristics, chicken feed, chop, clan, coarsen, coat, color, come to dust, comminute, complexion, composition, constituents, constitution, contriturate, corn, cover, crasis, crumb, crumble, crumble into dust, crumble to dust, crush, dab, daub, debris, deep-dye, denomination, description, designation, detritus, dharma, diathesis, dip, disintegrate, disposition, distemper, dog food, dole, dot, double-dye, dram, dribble, driblet, drop, droplet, dwarf, dye, eatage, eccentricity, effloresce, emblazon, enamel, engild, ensilage, ethos, face, fall to dust, fall to pieces, farinaceous plant, farthing, fast-dye, feather, feed, feel, fiber, finish, flaxseed, fleck, flour, flyspeck, fodder, fog, forage, forage grass, form, fragment, frame, fresco, fruit, genius, genre, genus, gild, glaze, gloss, gnat, gobbet, graminaceous plant, granular texture, granulate, granule, granulet, granulize, grass, grate, gravel, grind, grind to powder, grist, grit, groat, habit, hair, handful, hay, hayseed, hint, hue, humor, humors, idiosyncrasy, ilk, illuminate, imbue, inclination, indentation, individualism, ingrain, iota, japan, jot, kernel, kidney, kin, kind, knub, label, lacquer, lawn grass, lay on color, leaning, levigate, line, linseed, little, little bit, lot, lota, make, makeup, manner, mark, mash, meal, mental set, mettle, microbe, microorganism, midge, mill, mind, mind-set, minim, minimum, minutia, minutiae, mite, modicum, mold, molecule, morsel, mote, nap, nature, nub, number, nut, nutshell, oats, ornamental grass, ounce, paint, parget, particle, pasturage, pasture, pattern, pebble, persuasion, pestle, pet food, phylum, physique, pigment, pile, pinch, pinhead, pinpoint, pip, pit, pittance, pock, point, pound, powder, predilection, predisposition, preference, prime, proclivity, propensity, property, protuberance, provender, pulverize, quality, race, reduce to powder, reed, roughen, sand, scintilla, scrap, scratch, scratch feed, scrunch, scruple, seed, set, shade, shadow, shag, shape, shard, shellac, shingle, shred, silage, slant, slop on paint, slops, smash, smear, smidgen, smidgin, smitch, smooth, snip, snippet, somatotype, sort, soupcon, species, speck, spirit, spoonful, spot, squash, stain, stamp, stipple, stone, strain, straw, streak, stripe, structure, style, suchness, suggestion, surface, surface texture, swill, system, taste, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, texture, the like of, the likes of, thimbleful, tinct, tincture, tinge, tint, tiny bit, tittle, tone, tooth, trace, tribe, trifling amount, triturate, trivia, turn, turn of mind, twist, type, undercoat, vanishing point, variety, varnish, vein, wale, warp, wash, way, weave, wheat, whit, whitewash, woof