Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GRAIN, n. [Fr. grain; L. granum; Sp. and It. grano; G. gran; D. graan; Ir. gran, corn; W. graun, graen, gronyn, a little pebble or gravel stone, Ir. grean, Arm. gruan, which seems to be the Eng. ground; Russ. gran, grain, and a corner, a boundary. In Scot. grain is the branch of a tree, the stem or stalk of a plant, the branch of a river, the prong of a fork. In Sw. gryn is grain; grann, fine; gren, a branch; and gräns, boundary. Dan. gran, a grain, a pinetree; grand, a grain, an atom; green, a branch, a sprig; grændse, a boundary; G. gran, D. graan, grain; G. gränze, D. grens, a border.]

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. Dryden.
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. Woodward. The tooth of a sea-horse, contains a curdled grain. Brown.
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. Hammond.
11. Dyed or stained substance. All in a robe of darkest grain. Milton.
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. Hayward.
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. Ray. A grain of allowance, a small allowance or indulgence; a small portion to be remitted; something above or below just weight. Watts. To dye in grain, is to dye in the raw material, as wool or silk before it is manufactured.

GRAIN, or GRANE, v. [for Groan.]

[Not in use.]

GRAIN, v.i.

To yield fruit. [Obs.] Gower.

GRAIN'ED, a.

1. Rough; made less smooth. Shak.
2. Dyed in grain; ingrained. Brown.

GRAIN'ER, n.

A lixivium obtained by infusing pigeon's dung in water; used by tanners to give flexibility to skins. Ure.

GRAIN'ING, n.

1. Indentation. Leacke.
2. A fish of the dace kind. Dict. Nat. Hist.

GRAINS, n. [in the plural.]

The husks or remains of malt after brewing, or of any grain after distillation. Grains of paradise, an Indian spice, the seeds of a species of Amomum.

GRAIN'STAFF, n.

A quarter-staff.

GRAIN'Y, a.

Full of grains or corn; full of kernels. Johnson.

GRAITH, v.t.

To prepare. [See Greith and Ready.]

GRAL'LAE, n. [plur. Lat.]

Sec the next word.

GRAL'LA-TO-RY, a. [L. grallatorius.]

Denoting fowls which are waders, having long naked legs.

GRAL'LIC, a. [L. grallæ, stilts, crutches.]

Stilted; an epithet given to an order of fowls having long legs, naked above the knees, which fit them for wading in water.

GRAM, a. [Sax. gram; Sw. gram, angry; Dan. gram, envious, grudging.]

GRAM, n. [Fr. gramme, from Gr. γραμμα, whence γραμμαριον, the twenty fourth part of an ounce.]

In the new system of French weights, the unity of weights. It is the weight of a quantity of distilled water equal to a cubic centimeter, or 18 grains 841/10000 French, or du poids de marc, equal to 15.444 grains troy. Lunier.

GRA'MER-CY,

for Fr. grand-merci, is not in use. It formerly was used to express obligation. Spenser.

GRAM-IN-I-FOL'IOUS, a.

Bearing leaves like grass.

GRAM-IN-IV'O-ROUS, a. [L. gramen, grass, and voro, to eat.]

Feeding or subsisting on grass. The ox and all the bovine genus of quadrupeds are graminivorous animals; so also the horse or equine genus.

GRAM'MAR, a.

Belonging to or contained in grammar; as, a grammar rule.

GRAM'MAR, n. [Fr. grammaire; L. grammatica; Gr. γραμματικη, from γραμμα, a letter, from γραφω, to write. See Grave.]

1. In practice, the art of speaking or writing a language with propriety or correctness, according to established usage. As a science, grammar treats of the natural connection between ideas and words, and develops the principles which are common to all languages.
2. A system of general principles and of particular rules for speaking or writing a language; or a digested compilation of customary forms of speech in a nation; also, a book containing such principles and rules.
3. Propriety of speech. To write grammar, we must write according to the practice of good writers and speakers. [“Grammar is a term borrowed from the Greek, and used with little variation by the Latins, French, English, &c.; but the Welsh are under no necessity of borrowing from others, while they have so significant a term of their own as llythyreg.” The Rev. John Walters's Diss. on the Welsh Language, Cowbridge, 1771, 8vo. p. 32. – E. H. B.]

GRAM'MAR, v.i.

To discourse according to the rules of grammar. [Obs.]

GRAM-MA'RI-AN, n.

1. One versed in grammar, or the construction of languages; a philologist.
2. One who teaches grammar.

GRAM'MAR-LESS, a.

Destitute of grammar.

GRAM'MAR-SCHOOL, n.

A school in which the learned languages are taught. By learned languages, we usually mean the Latin and Greek; but others may be included.

GRAM'MA-RYE, n.

Sorcery.