Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GRATE, n. [It. grata, L. crates, a grate, a hurdle. Qu. its alliance to the verb, to grate.]

1. A work or frame, composed of parallel or cross bars, with interstices; a kind of lattice-work, such as is used in the windows of prisons and cloisters.
2. An instrument or frame of iron bars for holding coals, used as fuel, in houses, stores, shops, &c.