grain

grain
n. & v.
—n.
1 a fruit or seed of a cereal.
2 a (collect.) wheat or any allied grass used as food, corn. b (collect.) their fruit. c any particular species of corn.
3 a a small hard particle of salt, sand, etc. b a discrete particle or crystal, usu. small, in a rock or metal. c a piece of solid propellant for use in a rocket engine.
4 the smallest unit of weight in the troy system (equivalent to 1/480 of an ounce), and in the avoirdupois system (equivalent to 1/437.5 of an ounce).
5 the smallest possible quantity (not a grain of truth in it).
6 a roughness of surface. b Photog. a granular appearance on a photograph or negative.
7 the texture of skin, wood, stone, etc.; the arrangement and size of constituent particles.
8 a a pattern of lines of fibre in wood or paper. b lamination or planes of cleavage in stone, coal, etc.
9 nature, temper, tendency.
10 a hist. kermes or cochineal, or dye made from either of these. b poet. dye; colour.
—v.
1 tr. paint in imitation of the grain of wood or marble.
2 tr. give a granular surface to.
3 tr. dye in grain.
4 tr. & intr. form into grains.
5 tr. remove hair from (hides).
Phrases and idioms:
against the grain contrary to one's natural inclination or feeling. grain-leather leather dressed with grain-side out. grain-side the side of a hide on which the hair was. grains of Paradise capsules of a W. African plant (Aframomum melegueta), used as a spice and a drug. in grain thorough, genuine, by nature, downright, indelible.
Derivatives:
grained adj. (also in comb.). grainer n. grainless adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF f. L granum

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • grain — [ grɛ̃ ] n. m. • v. 1160; lat. granum → graine I ♦ 1 ♦ Fruit comestible des graminées. Le grain des céréales est un caryopse. Grain de blé, de maïs, de mil, de riz, d orge. Ôter les grains d un épi. ⇒ égrener. Menuis. GRAIN D ORGE. Assemblage à… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Grain — (gr[=a]n), n. [F. grain, L. granum, grain, seed, small kernel, small particle. See {Corn}, and cf. {Garner}, n., {Garnet}, {Gram} the chick pea, {Granule}, {Kernel.}] [1913 Webster] 1. A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • grain — Grain, m. monosyllab. Est ce qui vient en l espi, contenant farine. Granum fromenti, hordei, siliginis, auenae, et semblables. Ainsi en bail à moison de grain on dit, Moyennant dix muyds de grain, les deux parts bled, le tiers avoine. Et selon ce …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • grain — [greın] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(food)¦ 2¦(lines in wood etc)¦ 3¦(small piece)¦ 4 a grain of something 5 against the grain 6¦(measure)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: Latin granum seed ] 1.) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Grain — симметричный алгоритм синхронного потокового шифрования, ориентированный, в первую очередь на аппаратную реализацию. Шифр представлен на конкурсе eSTREAM в 2004 году Мартином Хеллом, Томасом Юханссоном и Вилли Мейером. Алгоритм стал одним из… …   Википедия

  • grain — [ greın ] noun ** 1. ) uncount the seeds from crops such as wheat, rice, or CORN that are used for food: bags of mixed grain a ) uncount food crops such as wheat, rice, or CORN: golden fields of grain b ) count an individual seed from one of… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • grain — [grān] n. [ME greyne < OFr grein, a seed, grain (< L granum, a seed, kernel) & grainne, seed or grain collectively (< LL grana, fem., orig. pl. of L granum) < IE base * ĝer , to become ripe > CORN1, KERNEL] 1. a small, hard seed or …   English World dictionary

  • GRAIN — is an international non governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world s food crops has been drastically eliminated. Very …   Wikipedia

  • Grain — 〈[ grɛın] m. 6; bei Zahlenangaben Pl.: 〉 1. älteres kleines Juwelengewicht, 1/4 Karat 2. Gewichts u. Maßeinheit in Großbrit. u. den USA, 0,0648 g [frz. u. engl., „Korn“ <lat. granum „Korn“] * * * I Grain   [greɪn; englisch »Korn«] der, s/ ( …   Universal-Lexikon

  • grain — ► NOUN 1) wheat or other cultivated cereal used as food. 2) a single seed or fruit of a cereal. 3) a small, hard particle of a substance such as sand. 4) the smallest unit of weight in the troy and avoirdupois systems, equal to 1 / 5760 of a… …   English terms dictionary

  • grain|y — «GRAY nee», adjective, grain|i|er, grain|i|est. 1. like the grain of wood or marble. 2. grainlike; granular: »a grainy surface …   Useful english dictionary

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