catflap.org Online Dictionary Query


Query string:
Search type:
Database:

Database copyright information
Server information


3 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  Grain \Grain\ (gr[=a]n), n. [F. grain, L. granum, grain, seed,
     small kernel, small particle. See Corn, and cf. Garner,
     n., Garnet, Gram the chick-pea, Granule, Kernel.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those
        plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Storehouses crammed with grain.       --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I . . . with a grain of manhood well resolved.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              All in a robe of darkest grain.       --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Hard box, and linden of a softer grain. --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. The direction, arrangement, or appearance of the fibers in
        wood, or of the strata in stone, slate, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Knots, by the conflux of meeting sap,
              Infect the sound pine and divert his grain
              Tortive and errant from his course of growth.
                                                    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. The fiber which forms the substance of wood or of any
        fibrous material.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on
        that side. --Knight.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. pl. The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or
         distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. (Bot.) A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in
         the common dock. See Grained, a., 4.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     12. Temper; natural disposition; inclination. [Obs.]
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Brothers . . . not united in grain.  --Hayward.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     13. A sort of spice, the grain of paradise. [Obs.]
         [1913 Webster]
  
               He cheweth grain and licorice,
               To smellen sweet.                    --Chaucer.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     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 insect.
        
  
     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 other 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  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.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 :   [ wn ]

  grain moth
       n : moth whose larvae feed on grain

Questions or comments about this site? Contact dictionary@catflap.org
Access Stats