grain

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English [edit]

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Wikipedia Wikipedia

Mixed grain—the harvested seeds
A close-up of wood grain—texture of material

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Old French grain, from Latin grānum (“seed”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm (“grain”). Compare English corn.

Noun [edit]

grain (countable and uncountable; plural grains)

  1. (uncountable) The harvested seeds of various grass-related food crops eg: wheat, corn, barley.
    We stored a thousand tons of grain for the winter.
  2. (countable) A single seed of grain.
    a grain of wheat
  3. (countable, uncountable) The crops from which grain is harvested.
    The fields were planted with grain.
  4. (uncountable) A linear texture of a material or surface.
    Cut along the grain of the wood.
  5. (countable) A single particle of a substance.
    a grain of sand
    a grain of salt
  6. (countable) A very small unit of weight, in England equal to 1/480 of an ounce troy, 0.0648 grams or, to be more exact, 64.79891 milligrams (0.002285714 avoirdupois ounce). A carat grain or pearl grain is 1/4 carat or 50 milligrams. The old French grain was 1/9216 livre or 53.11 milligrams, and in the mesures usuelles permitted from 1812 to 1839, with the livre redefined as 500 grams, it was 54.25 milligrams.
  7. (countable) A former unit of gold purity, also known as carat grain, equal to 1⁄4 "carat" (karat).
  8. (materials) A region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction.
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]
Translations [edit]
harvested seeds of various grass-related food crops
single seed of grain
the crops from which grain is harvested
linear texture of material or surface
single particle of a substance
unit of weight
materials: region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

grain (third-person singular simple present grains, present participle graining, simple past and past participle grained)

  1. To feed grain to.
  2. To make granular; to form into grains.
  3. To texture a surface in imitation of the grain of a substance such as wood.
  4. (tanning) To remove the hair or fat from a skin.
  5. (tanning) To soften leather.
Translations [edit]
to feed grain to
to make granular
to imitate the grain of wood
tanning: to remove the hair or fat from a skin
tanning: to soften leather

Etymology 2 [edit]

See groin (“part of the body”).

Noun [edit]

grain (plural grains)

  1. A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of G. Douglas to this entry?)
  2. A tine, prong, or fork.
    1. One of the branches of a valley or river.
    2. An iron fish spear or harpoon, with a number of points half-barbed inwardly.
      • 1770: Served 5 lb of fish per man which was caught by striking with grains — journal of Stephen Forwood (gunner on H.M. Bark Endeavour), 4 May 1770, quoted by Parkin (page 195).
    3. A blade of a sword, knife, etc.
  3. (founding) A thin piece of metal, used in a mould to steady a core.

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

French [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Latin granum.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

grain m (plural grains)

  1. grain
  2. (figuratively) a small amount, a bit
Derived terms [edit]

Etymology 2 [edit]

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page as described here.

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /gʁɛ̃/

Noun [edit]

grain m (plural grains)

  1. (nautical) squall, thunderstorm

Anagrams [edit]

Old French [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Latin grānum.

Noun [edit]

grain m (oblique plural grains, nominative singular grains, nominative plural grain)

  1. grain (edible part of a cereal plant)

Descendants [edit]

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