grain English · revision 6972

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la granum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡɹeɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English grein, grain, [[bor|fro|grain|t=seed, grain]], grein,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|granum|t=grain, seed]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*ǵr̥h₂nóm|alt=*gre-no-|t=grain]], also the source of English [[corn]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The senses of dye come partly from Old French graine, seed, kermes.^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small hard particle: about 1300; earlier in the surname Graindorg (about 1202).^(Barnhart 1988) The earliest sense of the word in English was a scarlet dye made from insects, kermes, in the early 13th century, believed to be seeds or berries.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A seed of a cereal plant is from about 1315–25,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and a species of cereal from the late 14th century; in the US, where [[corn]] has a special sense, grain is the general word for wheat, rye, oats and barley.^(Etymonline) The smallest unit of weight, originally that of a grain of wheat, is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and the smallest possible amount from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The texture of wood due to its fibres is from the 1560s, and ''against the grain'' (1650) is a metaphor from carpentry, as cutting across the fibres is harder.^(Etymonline) Word Origins adds that [[granary]], [[granule]] and [[granite]] are from the same Latin word.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 13th century – scarlet dye (kermes).^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – a small particle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1325 – a seed of a cereal.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – a unit of weight.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – the grain of wood.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650 – against the grain.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The seeds of [[cereal]] plants such as wheat, rice and oats, or the plants themselves.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A single seed of such a plant.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small hard particle: ''a grain of sand''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The smallest amount: ''not a grain of truth''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The arrangement of fibres in wood, or the texture of stone, cloth or leather.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small unit of weight, 0.065 gram.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To paint in imitation of the grain of wood.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[grainer]]

+ * [[grained]]

+ * [[grainless]]

+ * [[feedgrain]]

+ * [[fine-grain]]

+ * [[grainfield]]

+ * [[grainy]]

+ * [[multigrain]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coarse-grained]]

+ * [[fine-grained]]

+ * [[grain alcohol]]

+ * [[grains of paradise]]

+ * [[grosgrain]]

+ * [[granary]]

+ * [[granular]]

+ * [[granulate]]

+ * [[granulation]]

+ * [[grenade]]

+ * [[garnet]]

+ * [[corn]]

+ * [[granule]]

+ * [[granite]]

+ * [[engrain]]

+ * [[kernel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}