grain

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
grain
    n 1: a relatively small granular particle of a substance; "a
         grain of sand"; "a grain of sugar"
    2: foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses
       [syn: {grain}, {food grain}, {cereal}]
    3: the side of leather from which the hair has been removed
    4: a weight unit used for pearls or diamonds: 50 mg or 1/4 carat
       [syn: {grain}, {metric grain}]
    5: 1/60 dram; equals an avoirdupois grain or 64.799 milligrams
    6: 1/7000 pound; equals a troy grain or 64.799 milligrams
    7: dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g.
       wheat, barley, Indian corn [syn: {grain}, {caryopsis}]
    8: a cereal grass; "wheat is a grain that is grown in Kansas"
    9: the smallest possible unit of anything; "there was a grain of
       truth in what he said"; "he does not have a grain of sense"
    10: the direction, texture, or pattern of fibers found in wood
        or leather or stone or in a woven fabric; "saw the board
        across the grain"
    11: the physical composition of something (especially with
        respect to the size and shape of the small constituents of a
        substance); "breadfruit has the same texture as bread";
        "sand of a fine grain"; "fish with a delicate flavor and
        texture"; "a stone of coarse grain" [syn: {texture},
        {grain}]
    v 1: thoroughly work in; "His hands were grained with dirt"
         [syn: {ingrain}, {grain}]
    2: paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood
    3: form into grains [syn: {granulate}, {grain}]
    4: become granular [syn: {granulate}, {grain}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grain \Grain\, v. & n.
   See {Groan.} [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grain \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
      plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The fruit of certain grasses which furnish the chief food
      of man, as corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., or the plants
      themselves; -- used collectively.
      [1913 Webster]

            Storehouses crammed with grain.       --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Any small, hard particle, as of sand, sugar, salt, etc.;
      hence, any minute portion or particle; as, a grain of
      gunpowder, of pollen, of starch, of sense, of wit, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

            I . . . with a grain of manhood well resolved.
                                                  --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The unit of the English system of weights; -- so called
      because considered equal to the average of grains taken
      from the middle of the ears of wheat. 7,000 grains
      constitute the pound avoirdupois, and 5,760 grains the
      pound troy. A grain is equal to .0648 gram. See {Gram.}
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A reddish dye made from the coccus insect, or kermes;
      hence, a red color of any tint or hue, as crimson,
      scarlet, etc.; sometimes used by the poets as equivalent
      to {Tyrian purple}.
      [1913 Webster]

            All in a robe of darkest grain.       --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            Doing as the dyers do, who, having first dipped
            their silks in colors of less value, then give' them
            the last tincture of crimson in grain. --Quoted by
                                                  Coleridge,
                                                  preface to
                                                  Aids to
                                                  Reflection.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. The composite particles of any substance; that arrangement
      of the particles of any body which determines its
      comparative roughness or hardness; texture; as, marble,
      sugar, sandstone, etc., of fine grain.
      [1913 Webster]

            Hard box, and linden of a softer grain. --Dryden.
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   7. The direction, arrangement, or appearance of the fibers in
      wood, or of the strata in stone, slate, etc.
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            Knots, by the conflux of meeting sap,
            Infect the sound pine and divert his grain
            Tortive and errant from his course of growth.
                                                  --Shak.
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   8. The fiber which forms the substance of wood or of any
      fibrous material.
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   9. The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on
      that side. --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]

   10. pl. The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or
       distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called {draff}.
       [1913 Webster]

   11. (Bot.) A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in
       the common dock. See {Grained}, a., 4.
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   12. Temper; natural disposition; inclination. [Obs.]
       [1913 Webster]

             Brothers . . . not united in grain.  --Hayward.
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   13. A sort of spice, the grain of paradise. [Obs.]
       [1913 Webster]

             He cheweth grain and licorice,
             To smellen sweet.                    --Chaucer.
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   {Against the grain}, against or across the direction of the
      fibers; hence, against one's wishes or tastes;
      unwillingly; unpleasantly; reluctantly; with difficulty.
      --Swift. --Saintsbury.

   {A grain of allowance}, a slight indulgence or latitude a
      small allowance.

   {Grain binder}, an attachment to a harvester for binding the
      grain into sheaves.

   {Grain colors}, dyes made from the coccus or kermes insect.
      

   {Grain leather}.
       (a) Dressed horse hides.
       (b) Goat, seal, and other skins blacked on the grain side
           for women's shoes, etc.

   {Grain moth} (Zool.), one of several small moths, of the
      family {Tineid[ae]} (as {Tinea granella} and {Butalis
      cerealella}), whose larv[ae] devour grain in storehouses.
      

   {Grain side} (Leather), the side of a skin or hide from which
      the hair has been removed; -- opposed to {flesh side.}

   {Grains of paradise}, the seeds of a species of amomum.

   {grain tin}, crystalline tin ore metallic tin smelted with
      charcoal.

   {Grain weevil} (Zool.), a small red weevil ({Sitophilus
      granarius}), which destroys stored wheat and other grain,
      by eating out the interior.

   {Grain worm} (Zool.), the larva of the grain moth. See {grain
      moth}, above.

   {In grain}, of a fast color; deeply seated; fixed; innate;
      genuine. "Anguish in grain." --Herbert.

   {To dye in grain}, to dye of a fast color by means of the
      coccus or kermes grain [see {Grain}, n., 5]; hence, to dye
      firmly; also, to dye in the wool, or in the raw material.
      See under {Dye.}
      [1913 Webster]

            The red roses flush up in her cheeks . . .
            Likce crimson dyed in grain.          --Spenser.

   {To go against the grain of} (a person), to be repugnant to;
      to vex, irritate, mortify, or trouble.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grain \Grain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Grained} (gr[=a]nd); p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Graining.}]
   1. To paint in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To form (powder, sugar, etc.) into grains.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To take the hair off (skins); to soften and raise the
      grain of (leather, etc.).
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grain \Grain\, v. i. [F. grainer, grener. See {Grain}, n.]
   1. To yield fruit. [Obs.] --Gower.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the
      result of crystallization; to granulate.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grain \Grain\ (gr[=a]n), n. [See {Groin} a part of the body.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant. [Obs.]
      --G. Douglas.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A tine, prong, or fork. Specifically:
      (a) One the branches of a valley or of a river.
      (b) pl. An iron fish spear or harpoon, having four or more
          barbed points.
          [1913 Webster]

   3. A blade of a sword, knife, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Founding) A thin piece of metal, used in a mold to steady
      a core.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
GRAIN

   A pictorial {query language}.

   ["Pictorial Information Systems", S.K.  Chang et al eds,
   Springer 1980].

   (1995-01-23)
    
from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
granularity
coarse grain
fine grain
grain

   <jargon, parallel> The size of the units of {code} under
   consideration in some context.  The term generally refers to
   the level of detail at which code is considered, e.g. "You can
   specify the granularity for this profiling tool".

   The most common computing use is in parallelism where "fine
   grain parallelism" means individual tasks are relatively small
   in terms of code size and execution time, "coarse grain" is
   the opposite.  You talk about the "granularity" of the
   parallelism.

   The smaller the granularity, the greater the potential for
   parallelism and hence speed-up but the greater the overheads
   of synchronisation and communication.

   (1997-05-08)
    
from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Grain
used, in Amos 9:9, of a small stone or kernel; in Matt. 13:31,
of an individual seed of mustard; in John 12:24, 1 Cor. 15:37,
of wheat. The Hebrews sowed only wheat, barley, and spelt; rye
and oats are not mentioned in Scripture.
    
from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
GRAIN, weight. The twenty-fourth part of a pennyweight. 
     2. For scientific purposes the grain only is used, and sets of weights 
are constructed in decimal progression, from 10,000 grains downward to one 
hundredth of a grain. 
    
from Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
GRAIN, corn. It signifies wheat, rye, barley, or other corn sown in the 
ground In Pennsylvania, a tenant for a certain term is entitled to the way-
going crop. 5 inn. 289, 258; 2 Binn. 487; 2 Serg. & Rawle, 14. 
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
343 Moby Thesaurus words for "grain":
      abrade, ace, acorn, aftergrass, animus, apply paint, aptitude,
      atom, atomize, bamboo, barley, beat, bedaub, bedizen, begild, bent,
      berry, besmear, bias, bird seed, bit, blood, body-build, bran,
      brand, bray, break up, breccia, brecciate, breed, brush on paint,
      calcimine, cane, cast, cat food, cereal, cereal plant, character,
      characteristic, characteristics, chicken feed, chop, clan, coarsen,
      coat, color, come to dust, comminute, complexion, composition,
      constituents, constitution, contriturate, corn, cover, crasis,
      crumb, crumble, crumble into dust, crumble to dust, crush, dab,
      daub, debris, deep-dye, denomination, description, designation,
      detritus, dharma, diathesis, dip, disintegrate, disposition,
      distemper, dog food, dole, dot, double-dye, dram, dribble, driblet,
      drop, droplet, dwarf, dye, eatage, eccentricity, effloresce,
      emblazon, enamel, engild, ensilage, ethos, face, fall to dust,
      fall to pieces, farinaceous plant, farthing, fast-dye, feather,
      feed, feel, fiber, finish, flaxseed, fleck, flour, flyspeck,
      fodder, fog, forage, forage grass, form, fragment, frame, fresco,
      fruit, genius, genre, genus, gild, glaze, gloss, gnat, gobbet,
      graminaceous plant, granular texture, granulate, granule, granulet,
      granulize, grass, grate, gravel, grind, grind to powder, grist,
      grit, groat, habit, hair, handful, hay, hayseed, hint, hue, humor,
      humors, idiosyncrasy, ilk, illuminate, imbue, inclination,
      indentation, individualism, ingrain, iota, japan, jot, kernel,
      kidney, kin, kind, knub, label, lacquer, lawn grass, lay on color,
      leaning, levigate, line, linseed, little, little bit, lot, lota,
      make, makeup, manner, mark, mash, meal, mental set, mettle,
      microbe, microorganism, midge, mill, mind, mind-set, minim,
      minimum, minutia, minutiae, mite, modicum, mold, molecule, morsel,
      mote, nap, nature, nub, number, nut, nutshell, oats,
      ornamental grass, ounce, paint, parget, particle, pasturage,
      pasture, pattern, pebble, persuasion, pestle, pet food, phylum,
      physique, pigment, pile, pinch, pinhead, pinpoint, pip, pit,
      pittance, pock, point, pound, powder, predilection, predisposition,
      preference, prime, proclivity, propensity, property, protuberance,
      provender, pulverize, quality, race, reduce to powder, reed,
      roughen, sand, scintilla, scrap, scratch, scratch feed, scrunch,
      scruple, seed, set, shade, shadow, shag, shape, shard, shellac,
      shingle, shred, silage, slant, slop on paint, slops, smash, smear,
      smidgen, smidgin, smitch, smooth, snip, snippet, somatotype, sort,
      soupcon, species, speck, spirit, spoonful, spot, squash, stain,
      stamp, stipple, stone, strain, straw, streak, stripe, structure,
      style, suchness, suggestion, surface, surface texture, swill,
      system, taste, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, texture,
      the like of, the likes of, thimbleful, tinct, tincture, tinge,
      tint, tiny bit, tittle, tone, tooth, trace, tribe, trifling amount,
      triturate, trivia, turn, turn of mind, twist, type, undercoat,
      vanishing point, variety, varnish, vein, wale, warp, wash, way,
      weave, wheat, whit, whitewash, woof

    

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