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.}]
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1. A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those
plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.
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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.
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Storehouses crammed with grain. --Shak.
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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.
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I . . . with a grain of manhood well resolved.
--Milton.
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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.}
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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}.
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All in a robe of darkest grain. --Milton.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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10. pl. The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or
distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called {draff}.
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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.]
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Brothers . . . not united in grain. --Hayward.
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13. A sort of spice, the grain of paradise. [Obs.]
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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.}
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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.
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