English [ edit ]
Mixed grain—the harvested seeds
A close-up of wood grain—texture of material
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Etymology 1 [ edit ]
From Middle English greyn , grayn , grein , from Old French grain , grein , from Latin grānum ( “ seed ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm ( “ grain ” ) . Doublet of corn and gram .
grain (countable and uncountable , plural grains )
( uncountable ) The harvested seeds of various grass food crops eg: wheat , corn , barley .
We stored a thousand tons of grain for the winter.
( uncountable ) Similar seeds from any food crop, e.g., buckwheat , amaranth , quinoa .
( countable ) A single seed of grass food crops.
a grain of wheat
grains of oat
( countable , uncountable ) The crops from which grain is harvested .
The fields were planted with grain .
( uncountable ) A linear texture of a material or surface.
Cut along the grain of the wood.
He doesn't like to shave against the grain .
( countable ) A single particle of a substance.
a grain of sand
a grain of salt
( countable ) Any of various small units of mass originally notionally based on grain's weight , variously standardized at different places and times , including
The English grain of 1 ⁄ 5760 troy pound or 1 ⁄ 7000 pound avoirdupois , now exactly 64.79891 mg .
The metric , carat , or pearl grain of 1 ⁄ 4 carat used for measuring precious stones and pearls , now exactly 50 mg .
( historical ) The French grain of 1 ⁄ 9216 livre , equivalent to 53.11 mg at metricization and equal to exactly 54.25 mg from 1812–1839 as part of the mesures usuelles .
( countable , chiefly historical ) Any of various small units of length originally notionally based on a grain's width , variously standardized at different places and times .
( countable , historical ) The carat grain of 1 ⁄ 4 carat as a measure of gold purity , creating a 96-point scale between 0% and 100% purity .
( materials ) A region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction.
( astronautics ) The solid piece of fuel in an individual solid -fuel rocket engine .
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 .
a. 1825 , Quoted by Coleridge, preface to Aids to Reflection :
[ …] doing as the dyers do, who, having first dipped their silks in colours of less value, then give them the last tincture of crimson in grain .
The hair side of a piece of leather , or the marking on that side.
1773 , Royal Dublin Society, The Art of Tanning and of Currying Leather :The grain of the leather is also sometimes damaged by the filling , by the taking off the hair , and by the river work.
( in the plural ) The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum . Also called draff.
( botany ) A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal , as in the common dock .
Temper; natural disposition; inclination.
a. 1628 (date written), John Hayward , The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt , London: [ … ] [Eliot’s Court Press, and J. Lichfield at Oxford?] for Iohn Partridge, [ … ] , published 1630, →OCLC :brothers [ …] not united in grain
( photography , videography) Visual texture in processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds , developed from silver halide that have received enough photons .
Derived terms [ edit ]
Related terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
single seed of grain
Armenian: հատիկ (hy) ( hatik )
Azerbaijani: dənə (az) , dən (az)
Bashkir: бөртөк ( börtök )
Bulgarian: зърно (bg) n ( zǎrno ) , зрънце (bg) n ( zrǎnce )
Burmese: အစေ့ (my) ( a.ce. ) , အဆန် (my) ( a.hcan )
Catalan: gra (ca) m
Chechen: буьртиг ( bürtig )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 顆粒 / 颗粒 (zh) ( kēlì )
Czech: zrno (cs) n , zrnko (cs) n
Dutch: graankorrel (nl) m
Esperanto: grajno (eo)
Finnish: jyvä (fi)
French: grain (fr) m
Galician: gran (gl) m
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Körnchen n , Korn (de) n
Greek: σπυρί (el) n ( spyrí )
Ancient: κόκκος m ( kókkos )
Hebrew: גַּרְגִּיר (he) m ( gargír )
Icelandic: korn (is) n
Japanese: ( particle ) 粒 (ja) ( tsubu ) , ( seed ) 種 (ja) ( tsubu )
Khmer: គ្រាប់ (km) ( krŏəp )
Lao: ເມັດ ( met )
Latgalian: gryuds
Latin: grānum n
Latvian: grauds m
Lithuanian: grūdas (lt) m
Macedonian: зрно n ( zrno )
Maori: pata (mi)
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Old English: corn n
Persian: دانه (fa) ( dâne )
Polish: ziarno (pl) n
Portuguese: grão (pt) m
Romanian: bob (ro)
Russian: зерно́ (ru) n ( zernó ) , зёрнышко (ru) n ( zjórnyško )
Scottish Gaelic: gràine f
Spanish: grano (es) m
Swahili: nafaka (sw)
Swedish: korn (sv) n , gryn (sv) n , sädeskorn (sv) n
Telugu: గింజ (te) ( giñja )
Thai: เมล็ด (th) ( má-lét )
Tigrinya: እኽሊ ( ʾəxli )
Turkish: habbe (tr) sg
Vietnamese: hột (vi) , hạt (vi)
Welsh: gronyn (cy) m
Zulu: inhlamvu (zu) class 9 /10 , imbewu (zu) class 9 /10
crops from which grain is harvested
linear texture of material or surface
Amharic: please add this translation if you can
Arabic: تَجْزِيع m ( tajzīʕ ) , تَعْرِيق m ( taʕrīq )
Bulgarian: зърнистост f ( zǎrnistost ) , текстура f ( tekstura )
Catalan: veta (ca) f
Czech: zrnitost
Dutch: nerf (nl)
Finnish: syyt (fi) pl
French: grain (fr) m
Galician: gran (gl) m
German: Maserung (de) f
Greek: υφή (el) f ( yfí )
Hausa: please add this translation if you can
Hebrew: חספוס m ( khispús ) , מרגב m ( mirgáv )
Hindi: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
Irish: snáithe m
Japanese: 木目 ( きめ , kime; もくめ , mokume)
Kannada: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: please add this translation if you can
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: дрвни влакна n pl ( drvni vlakna )
Maori: kakano
Persian: خواب (fa)
Polish: mazerunek m
Portuguese: granularidade f
Romanian: please add this translation if you can
Russian: зерни́стость (ru) f ( zernístostʹ ) , грануля́ция (ru) f ( granuljácija )
Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
Slovene: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: veta (es) f
Swedish: väv (sv) c
Tagalog: please add this translation if you can
Tamil: please add this translation if you can
Telugu: please add this translation if you can
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Tigre: please add this translation if you can
Tigrinya: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: please add this translation if you can
single particle of a substance
Armenian: հատիկ (hy) ( hatik )
Bashkir: бөртөк ( börtök )
Belarusian: крупі́нка f ( krupínka ) , часці́ца f ( čascíca ) , драбі́нка f ( drabínka ) , зярня́тка n ( zjarnjátka ) , ка́ліва n ( káliva ) , ка́ліўца n ( káliŭca )
Bulgarian: частица (bg) f ( častica )
Catalan: gra (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 粒 (zh) ( lì )
Czech: zrnko (cs) n
Dutch: korrel (nl) m
Esperanto: ero (eo) , grajno (eo)
Finnish: jyvä (fi) , jyvänen (fi)
French: grain (fr) m
Galician: gran (gl) m
German: Körnchen n
Greek: κόκκος (el) m ( kókkos )
Ancient: κόκκος m ( kókkos )
Hebrew: גַּרְגִּיר (he) m ( gargír )
Italian: grano, granello m
Japanese: 粒 (ja) ( tsubu )
Macedonian: зрно n ( zrno )
Malay: butir (ms)
Maori: tōpata
Polish: ziarenko (pl) n , ziarnko (pl) n
Portuguese: grão (pt) m , glóbulo (pt) m
Russian: зёрнышко (ru) n ( zjórnyško ) , крупи́нка (ru) f ( krupínka ) , крупи́ца (ru) f ( krupíca ) , части́ца (ru) f ( častíca )
Sanskrit: कण (sa) m ( kaṇa )
Scottish Gaelic: gràine f
Spanish: grano (es) m
Swedish: korn (sv) n , gryn (sv) n
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: крупи́нка f ( krupýnka ) , части́нка (uk) f ( častýnka ) , дрі́бка f ( dríbka ) , зе́рнятко n ( zérnjatko ) , зе́рня n ( zérnja ) , зерня́ n ( zernjá ) , зерни́нка f ( zernýnka ) , зере́нце n ( zerénce )
Zulu: inhlamvu (zu) class 9 /10
unit of mass notionally based on grain's weight
unit of length notionally based on a grain's width
1 ⁄ 4 carat as measure of gold purity
materials: region within a material having a single crystal structure or direction
rocketry: solid piece of fuel
reddish dye made from the coccus insect
hair side of a piece of leather
remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation
botany: rounded prominence on the back of a sepal
temper; natural disposition; inclination
visual texture in processed photographic film
Translations to be checked
Albanian: (please verify ) drithë (sq) f
Basque: (please verify ) ale (eu)
Breton: ( 1 ) (please verify ) greun (br) ( collective noun ) , ( 2 ) (please verify ) greunenn (br) f , ( suffix -enn for the collective nouns ) (5)
Esperanto: (please verify ) greno (eo)
French: ( 1 ) (please verify ) grain (fr) m
Georgian: (please verify ) მარცვალი ( marcvali )
German: ( 1, 2, 3, 5 ) (please verify ) Korn (de) , ( 1, 3 ) (please verify ) Getreide (de) , ( 4 ) (please verify ) Strich (de) , ( 6 ) (please verify ) Gran (de)
Interlingua: ( 1 ) (please verify ) grano
Italian: (please verify ) grano (it) m
Latin: (please verify ) granum n
Old English: (please verify ) corn (ang) ( 1,2,5 )
Romanian: (please verify ) grâu (ro) f or m
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: (please verify ) zȑno (sh) n
Slovak: (please verify ) zrno n
Slovene: (please verify ) zrno (sl) n
Telugu: (please verify ) గింజ (te) ( giñja )
Turkish: (please verify ) tara (tr) , (please verify ) tane (tr)
See also [ edit ]
grain (third-person singular simple present grains , present participle graining , simple past and past participle grained )
To feed grain to.
( transitive ) To make granular ; to form into grains.
( intransitive ) To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization ; to granulate .
To texture a surface in imitation of the grain of a substance such as wood .
( tanning ) To remove the hair or fat from a skin .
( tanning ) To soften leather.
To yield fruit.
Translations [ edit ]
to imitate the grain of wood
tanning: to remove the hair or fat from a skin
tanning: to soften leather
Etymology 2 [ edit ]
From Middle English grayn , from Old Norse grein .
grain (plural grains )
A branch of a tree ; a stalk or stem of a plant .
A tine , prong , or fork .
One of the branches of a valley or river .
An iron fish spear or harpoon, with a number of points half-barbed inwardly.
4 May 1770 , Stephen Forwood (gunner on H.M. Bark Endeavour ), journal (quoted by Parkin (page 195)
Served 5 lb of fish per man which was caught by striking with grains
A blade of a sword, knife, etc.
( founding ) A thin piece of metal , used in a mould to steady a core .
Further reading [ edit ]
“grain ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913, →OCLC .
“grain ”, in The Century Dictionary [ … ] , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911, →OCLC .
Anagrams [ edit ]
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Etymology 1 [ edit ]
Inherited from Middle French , from Old French grain , grein , from Latin grānum , ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm .
grain m (plural grains )
grain
( figurative ) a small amount, a bit
Derived terms [ edit ]
Related terms [ edit ]
Etymology 2 [ edit ]
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
grain m (plural grains )
( nautical ) squall , thunderstorm
Derived terms [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
Anagrams [ edit ]
Middle English [ edit ]
grain
Alternative form of greynen
Old French [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From Latin grānum .
grain m (oblique plural grainz , nominative singular grainz , nominative plural grain )
grain ( edible part of a cereal plant )
circa 1120 , Philippe de Taon, Bestiaire , line 421:E quant grain ad truved de tuz maneres de bled When it [the ant] found grain of all manners of wheat
Related terms [ edit ]
Descendants [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From Middle English grayn , greyn , grein , from Old Norse grein ( “ branch, twig ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *grainiz ( “ branch ” ) .
grain (plural grains )
( of a tree ) A branch or bough .
( of a plant ) A stalk .
( of a fork or trident ) A prong .
An offshoot , branch, or member of anything
( of a cross ) An arm .
( of a family or surname ) A branch.
A branch of a stream ; the arm of a loch .