grind

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡraɪnd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English grinden, inherited from Old English grindan (“to rub together, crush into powder”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *grindanan,^[2][3] related to Middle Dutch grinde (“thick sand, scab”), Old High German grint (“scab, scurf”) and Old Norse grandi (“sandbar”),^[2][5] and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ghrendh- (“to grind”), the source of Latin frendō (“to gnash the teeth”) and Lithuanian gręsti (“to scrape”).^[3][4][2] Hoad notes no Germanic cognates of the verb itself.^[4] Most other Germanic languages use a verb related to molō (“to grind”), such as Dutch malen and German mahlen.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To crush into bits or powder: about 1000; earlier Old English had forgrindan (“to destroy by crushing”), about 725.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To make smooth or sharp by friction is from about 1300,^[3] and to work laboriously from the 18th century.^[4] The noun, the act of grinding, is from about 1200.^[6][3] Steady, hard, tedious work was first college slang, in 1851,^[3][6] and a hard-working student was a grind in American slang from 1864.^[3] The size of the particles, as of ground coffee, is from 1922.^[6] A slang sense, sexual intercourse, is by 1893.^[3] Grindstone is from the 13th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 725 – forgrindan, to destroy by crushing.^[2]
• c. 1000 – to grind.^[2]
• c. 1200 – a grind (noun).^[6][3]
• c. 1300 – to sharpen by friction.^[3]
• 1851 – hard, tedious work.^[3][6]
• 1864 – a hard-working student (US).^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To crush into small particles or powder by pounding or rubbing.
2. To smooth, sharpen or polish by friction.
3. To rub together harshly; to gnash: to grind one's teeth.
4. To oppress or crush, often with down.
5. To move with a noisy grating friction.
6. To study or work hard.

Noun

1. The act or noise of grinding.
2. The degree to which something is ground, as coffee.
3. A hard, tedious task or routine.
4. (US) A student who works excessively.

Word family

• grindingly
• grindable
• grindability
• grindery
• grindstone
• regrind
• grind out

Related words

• ground
• grist

Usage notes

Grind, a gate of horizontal bars in Shetland and Orkney (1615), is a separate Scandinavian word, akin to Old Norse grind (“gate, lattice door”).^[6][7][5]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)