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.