GRAM, gram, _n._ a word used in commerce for chick peas exported from
British India. [Anglo-Ind., perh. from Port, _grão_--L. _granum_, a grain.]
GRAM, GRAMME, gram, _n._ the unit of mass in the metric system, equal to
15.432 troy grains. [Fr.,--L.,--Gr. _gramma_, a letter, a small weight.]
GRAMARY, gram'a-ri, _n._ magic: enchantment.--Also GRAM'ARYE. [M. E.
_gramery_, skill in grammar, hence magic--O. Fr. _gramaire_, grammar.]
GRAMERCY, gra-m[.e]r'si, _interj._ great thanks--an obsolete expression of
obligation, with surprise. [O. Fr. _grammerci_, _grantmerci_, great
thanks.]
GRAMINEÆ, gr[=a]-min'[=e]-[=e], _n.pl._ the order of grasses.--_adjs._
GRAMIN[=A]'CEOUS, GRAMIN'EAL, GRAMIN[=E]'OUS, like or pertaining to grass:
grassy; GRAMINIF[=O]'LIOUS, bearing leaves; GRAMINIV'OROUS, feeding or
subsisting on grass and herbs. [L. _gramen_, _graminis_, grass, _folium_, a
leaf, _vor[=a]re_, to eat greedily.]
GRAMMAR, gram'ar, _n._ the science of the right use of language: a book
which teaches grammar: any elementary work.--_ns._ GRAMM[=A]'RIAN, one
versed in, or who teaches, grammar; GRAMM'AR-SCHOOL, a school in which
grammar, esp. Latin grammar, is taught: a higher school, in which Latin and
Greek are taught.--_adjs._ GRAMMAT'IC, -AL, belonging to, or according to,
the rules of grammar.--_adv._ GRAMMAT'ICALLY.--_n._ GRAMMAT'ICASTER, a
piddling grammarian.--_v.t._ GRAMMAT'IC[=I]SE, to make grammatical.--_v.i._
to act the grammarian.--_ns._ GRAMMAT'ICISM, a point of grammar;
GRAMM'ATIST, a grammarian. [O. Fr. _gramaire_; from Low L. _gramma_, a
letter, with the termination _-arius_--Gr. _gramma_, a letter--_graphein_,
to write.]
GRAMME. See GRAM.
GRAMOPHONE, gram'o-f[=o]n, _n._ an instrument of the phonograph type for
recording and reproducing articulate speech--invented by E. Berliner. [Gr.
_gramma_, a letter, _ph[=o]n[=e]_, sound.]
GRAMPUS, gram'pus, _n._ a large voracious fish of the dolphin family,
common in almost all seas. [A sailor's corr. of It. _gran pesce_, or Sp.
_gran pez_, great fish--L. _grandis piscis_, great fish.]
GRANADILLA, gran-a-dil'a, _n._ the edible fruit of a species of
passion-flower. [Sp.]
GRANARY, gran'ar-i, _n._ a storehouse for grain or threshed corn. [L.
_granaria_--_granum_.]
GRAND, grand, _adj._ of great size, extent, power, or dignity: splendid:
illustrious: noble: sublime: chief: covering the whole field, or including
all details: (_mus._) containing all the parts proper to a given form of
composition: of the second degree of parentage or descent, as
_Grand'father_, a father or mother's father; _Grand'child_, a son or
daughter's child; so _Grand'mother_, _Grand'son_, _Grand'daughter_,
&c.--_ns._ GRAN'DAM, an old dame or woman: a grandmother; GRAND'-DUKE, a
title of sovereignty over a grand-duchy, first created by the Pope in 1569
for the rulers of Florence and Tuscany, assumed by certain German reigning
princes and by the princes of the imperial family of Russia; GRANDEE',
since the 13th century the most highly privileged class of nobility in the
kingdom of Castile, in which the members of the royal family were included:
a man of high rank or station; GRANDEE'SHIP; GRANDEUR (grand'[=u]r),
vastness: splendour of appearance: loftiness of thought or deportment;
GRANDIL'OQUENCE.--_adj._ GRANDIL'OQUENT, speaking grandly or bombastically:
pompous--(_rare_) GRANDIL'OQUOUS.--_adv._ GRANDIL'OQUENTLY.--_adj._
GRAN'DIOSE, grand or imposing: bombastic.--_adv._ GRAN'DIOSELY.--_ns._
GRANDIOS'ITY; GRAND'-JU'ROR, member of a GRAND'-JU'RY, a special jury which
decides whether there is sufficient evidence to put an accused person on
trial.--_adv._ GRAND'LY.--_ns._ GRAND'MAMMA, GRAND'MA, a grandmother;
GRAND'-MAS'TER, title of the head of the religious orders of knighthood
(Hospitallers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights): the head, for the time
being, of the Freemasons, &c.--_adj._ GRAND'MOTHERLY, like a grandmother,
over-anxious to direct the whole life of another.--_ns._ GRAND'-NEPH'EW,
the grandson of a brother or sister; GRAND'NESS; GRAND'-NIECE, the
granddaughter of a brother or sister; GRAND'PAPA, GRAND'PA, a grandfather;
GRAND'-PAR'ENT, a grandfather or grandmother; GRAND'-PIÄ'NO, a large kind
of piano, of great compass and power; GRAND'SIRE, a grandfather: any
ancestor; GRAND'STAND, an elevated erection on a race-course, &c.,
affording a good view; GRAND'-UN'CLE, the brother of a grandfather or
grandmother--also GREAT'-UN'CLE.--GRAND SEIGNIOR (see SEIGNIOR); GRAND
VIZIR (see VIZIR). [Fr. _grand_--L. _grandis_, great.]
GRANDISONIAN, gran-di-s[=o]'ni-an, _adj._ like the novelist Richardson's
hero, Sir Charles _Grandison_, polite and chivalrous to an extreme and
tedious degree.
GRANGE, gr[=a]nj, _n._ a farm-house with its stables and other buildings:
(_Milt._) a granary: (_U.S._) a lodge of the order of 'Patrons of
Husbandry.'--_n._ GRAN'GER, a member of a farmer's grange.--_adj._
pertaining to such. [O. Fr. _grange_, barn--Low L. _granea_--L. _granum_,
grain.]
GRANGERISM, gr[=a]n'jer-izm, _n._ the practice of cutting plates and
title-pages out of many books to illustrate one book.--_v.t._ GRAN'GERISE,
to practise grangerism. [From James _Granger_ (1716-76), whose
_Biographical History of England_ (1769) gave an impetus to this.]
GRANIFEROUS, gran-if'[.e]r-us, _adj._ bearing seeds like grain.--_adjs._
GRAN'IFORM, formed or shaped like a grain or seed; GRANIV'OROUS, eating
grain: feeding on seeds. [L. _granum_, grain, _ferre_, to carry, _forma_,
form, _vor[=a]re_, to devour.]
GRANITE, gran'it, _n._ an igneous crystalline rock, composed of grains of
quartz, feldspar, and mica, and of a whitish, grayish, or reddish
colour.--_adj._ GRANIT'IC, pertaining to, consisting of, or like
granite.--_n._ GRANITIFIC[=A]'TION.--_adjs._ GRANIT'IFORM, GRAN'ITOID, of
the form of or resembling granite; GRANOLITH'IC, composed of cement formed
of pounded granite. [It. _granito_, granite, lit. grained--L. _granum_,
grain.]
GRANNY, gran'i, _n._ a grandmother: an old woman--also GRAND'AM.--_n._
GRANN'Y-KNOT, a knot like a reef-knot, but having the second tie across,
difficult to untie when jammed.
GRANT, grant, _v.t._ to bestow or give over: to give possession of: to
admit as true what is not yet proved: to concede.--_v.i._ (_Shak._) to
consent.--_n._ a bestowing: something bestowed, an allowance: a gift:
(_Eng. law_) conveyance of property by deed.--_adj._ GRANT'ABLE.--_ns._
GRANT[=EE]' (_law_), the person to whom a grant, gift, or conveyance is
made; GRANT'ER, GRANT'OR (_law_), the person by whom a grant or conveyance
is made.--TAKE FOR GRANTED, to presuppose as certainly true. [O. Fr.
_graanter_,_ craanter_, _creanter_, to promise, as if from a Low L.
_credent[=a]re_--L. _cred[)e]re_, to believe.]
GRANULE, gran'[=u]l, _n._ a little grain: a fine particle.--_adjs._
GRAN'[=U]LAR, GRAN'[=U]LARY, GRAN'[=U]LOSE, GRAN'[=U]LOUS, consisting of or
like grains or granules.--_adv._ GRAN'[=U]LARLY.--_v.t._ GRAN'[=U]L[=A]TE,
to form or break into grains or small masses: to make rough on the
surface.--_v.i._ to be formed into grains.--_adj._ granular: having the
surface covered with small elevations.--_n._ GRAN[=U]L[=A]'TION, act of
forming into grains, esp. of metals by pouring them through a sieve into
water while hot: (_pl._) the materials of new texture as first formed in a
wound or on an ulcerated surface.--_adjs._ GRAN[=U]LIF'EROUS;
GRAN'[=U]LIFORM.--_n._ GRAN'[=U]L[=I]TE, a schistose but sometimes massive
aggregate of quartz and orthoclase with garnets. [L. _granulum_, dim. of
_granum_, grain.]
GRAPE, gr[=a]p, _v.i._ a Scotch form of _grope_.
GRAPE, gr[=a]p, _n._ the fruit of the grape-vine, or of any of the many
species of the genus _Vitis_: a mangy tumour on the legs of horses:
grapeshot.--_n._ GRAPE'-HY'ACINTH, a genus of bulbous-rooted plants, nearly
allied to the hyacinths.--_adj._ GRAPE'LESS, without the flavour of the
grape, said of wine.--_ns._ GRAP'ERY, a place where grapes are grown;
GRAPE'SHOT, shot or small iron balls clustered or piled on circular plates
round an iron pin, which scatter on being fired; GRAPE'-STONE, the stone or
seed of the grape; GRAPE'-SU'GAR, dextrose; GRAPE'-VINE, the vine that
bears grapes.--_adj._ GRAP'Y, made of or like grapes.--SOUR GRAPES, things
despised because they cannot be attained (from Æsop's fable of the fox and
the grapes). [O. Fr. _grappe_, a cluster of grapes; from Old High Ger.
_chrapho_, a hook. It properly meant a hook, then clustered fruit, hooked
on, attached to, a stem (Brachet).]
GRAPH, graf, _n._ a representation by means of lines, exhibiting the nature
of the law according to which some phenomena vary: _-graph_ is used as a
terminal in many Greek compounds to denote an agent which writes, &c., as
_telegraph_, _seismograph_, or the thing written, as in _autograph_,
&c.--_adjs._ GRAPH'IC, -AL, pertaining to writing, describing, or
delineating: picturesquely described: vivid.--_adv._ GRAPH'ICALLY.--_ns._
GRAPH'ICNESS; GRAPHIOL'OGY, the science or art of writing or delineating,
or a treatise thereon; GRAPH'IS, a genus of lichens, remarkable for the
resemblance which the fructification assumes to the forms of the letters of
Oriental alphabets; GRAPH'[=I]TE, a mineral, commonly called blacklead or
plumbago (though containing no lead), largely used in making
pencils.--_adj._ GRAPHIT'IC.--_ns._ GRAPH'IUM, a stylus; GRAPHOL'OGY, the
science of estimating character, &c., from handwriting.--GRAPHIC ARTS,
painting, drawing, engraving, as opposed to music, sculpture, &c.; GRAPHIC
GRANITE, a variety of granite with markings like Hebrew characters. [Gr.
_graph[=e]_, a writing--_graphein_, to write.]
GRAPHOLITE, graf'o-l[=i]t, _n._ a kind of slate for writing on.--_n._
GRAPHOM'ETER, an instrument used by surveyors for measuring
angles.--_adjs._ GRAPHOMET'RIC, -AL, pertaining to or determined by a
graphometer.--_ns._ GRAPH'OPHONE, an instrument for recording sounds, based
on the principle of the phonograph; GRAPH'OTYPE, a process intended to
supersede wood-engraving, but superseded by zincotype. [Gr. _graphein_, to
write, _lithos_, a stone, _metron_, a measure, _phon[=e]_, a sound,
_typos_, an impression.]
GRAPNEL, grap'nel, _n._ a small anchor with several claws or arms: a
grappling-iron. [Fr. _grappin_--_grappe_, a hook, with dim. suff. _-el_.]
GRAPPLE, grap'l, _v.t._ to seize: to lay fast hold of.--_v.i._ to contend
in close fight.--_ns._ GRAPP'LEMENT (_Spens._), a grappling, close fight;
GRAPP'LING-[=I]'RON, a large grapnel for seizing hostile ships in naval
engagements. [O. Fr. _grappil_--_grappe_, a hook.]
GRAPTOLITE, grap'to-l[=i]t, _n._ one of a group of fossil hydrozoa, having
simple or branched polyparies, usually strengthened by a horny-like
rod--the 'solid axis.' [Gr. _graptos_--_graphein_, to write, _lithos_, a
stone.]
GRASP, grasp, _v.t._ to seize and hold by clasping with the fingers or
arms: to catch at: to comprehend.--_v.i._ to endeavour to seize: to catch
(with _at_).--_n._ gripe of the hand: reach of the arms: power of seizing:
mental power of apprehension.--_adj._ GRASP'ABLE.--_n._ GRASP'ER.--_p.adj._
GRASP'ING, seizing: avaricious: encroaching.--_adv._ GRASP'INGLY.--_n._
GRASP'INGNESS.--_adj._ GRASP'LESS, feeble, relaxed. [M. E.
_graspen_--_grapsen_, as clasp--M. E. _claspen_; allied to _grope_,
_grapple_.]
GRASS, gras, _n._ common herbage: an order of plants (_Gramineæ_), the most
important in the whole vegetable kingdom, with long, narrow leaves and
tubular stem, including wheat, rye, oats, rice, millet, and all those which
supply food for nearly all graminivorous animals: short for
asparagus--sparrow-grass: time of grass, spring or summer: the surface of a
mine.--_v.t._ to cover with grass: to feed with grass: to bring to the
grass or ground, as a bird or a fish--(various perennial fodder grasses are
_timothy_, _fox-tail_, _cock's-foot_, and the _fescue grasses_, _Italian
rye-grass_, &c.).--_ns._ GRASS'-CLOTH, a name applied to different kinds of
coarse cloth, the fibre of which is rarely that of a grass, esp. to the
Chinese summer-cloth made from _Boehmeria nivea_, which is really a nettle;
GRASS'-CUT'TER, one of the attendants on an Indian army, whose work is to
provide provender for the baggage-cattle; GRASS'ER, an extra or temporary
worker in a printing-office.--_adjs._ GRASS'-GREEN, green with grass: green
as grass; GRASS'-GROWN, grown over with grass.--_ns._ GRASS'HOPPER, a
saltatorial, orthopterous insect, nearly allied to locusts and crickets,
keeping quiet during the day among vegetation, but noisy at night;
GRASS'INESS; GRASS'ING, the exposing of linen in fields to air and light
for bleaching purposes; GRASS'-LAND, permanent pasture; GRASS'-OIL, a name
under which several volatile oils derived from widely different plants are
grouped; GRASS'-PLOT, a plot of grassy ground; GRASS'-TREE, a genus of
Australian plants, with shrubby stems, tufts of long wiry foliage at the
summit, and a tall flower-stalk, with a dense cylindrical spike of small
flowers; GRASS'-WID'OW, a wife temporarily separated from her husband,
often also a divorced woman, or one deserted by her husband; GRASS'-WRACK,
the eel-grass growing abundantly on the sea-coast.--_adj._ GRASS'Y, covered
with or resembling grass, green.--GO TO GRASS, to be turned out to pasture,
esp. of a horse too old to work: to go into retirement, to rusticate: to
fall violently (of a pugilist); LET THE GRASS GROW UNDER ONE'S FEET, to
loiter, linger.--SPANISH GRASS (see ESPARTO). [A.S. _gærs_, _græs_; Ice.,
Ger., Dut., and Goth. _gras_; prob. allied to _green_ and _grow_.]
GRASSUM, gräs'um, _n._ (_Scots law_) a lump sum paid by persons who take a
lease of landed property--in England, 'premium' and 'fine.'
GRATE, gr[=a]t, _n._ a framework composed of bars with interstices, esp.
one of iron bars for holding coals while burning.--_adj._ GRAT'ED, having a
grating.--_ns._ GRATICUL[=A]'TION, the division of a design into squares
for convenience in making an enlarged or diminished copy; GRAT'ING, the
bars of a grate: a partition or frame of bars. [Low L. _grata_, a grate--L.
_crates_, a hurdle. See CRATE.]
GRATE, gr[=a]t, _v.t._ to rub hard or wear away with anything rough: to
make a harsh sound: to irritate or offend.--_n._ GRAT'ER, an instrument
with a rough surface for grating down a body.--_adj._ GRAT'ING, rubbing
hard on the feelings: harsh: irritating.--_adv._ GRAT'INGLY. [O. Fr.
_grater_, through Low L., from Old High Ger. _chraz[=o]n_ (Ger. _kratzen_),
to scratch, akin to Sw. _kratta_.]
GRATEFUL, gr[=a]t'f[=oo]l, _adj._ causing pleasure: acceptable: delightful:
thankful: having a due sense of benefits.--_adv._ GRATE'FULLY.--_ns._
GRATE'FULNESS; GRATIFIC[=A]'TION, a pleasing or indulging: that which
gratifies: delight; GRAT'IFIER.--_v.t._ GRAT'IFY, to do what is agreeable
to: to please: to soothe; to indulge:--_pa.p._ grat'ified.--_p.adj._
GRAT'IFYING. [O. Fr. _grat_--L. _gratus_, pleasing, thankful, and suff.
_-ful_.]
GRATILLITY, gra-til'i-ti, _n._ (_Shak._) gratuity.
GRATIS, gr[=a]'tis, _adv._ for nothing: without payment or recompense. [L.,
contr. of _gratiis_, abl. pl. of _gratia_, favour--_gratus_.]
GRATITUDE, grat'i-t[=u]d, _n._ warm and friendly feeling towards a
benefactor: thankfulness. [Fr.,--Low L. _gratitudo_---L. _gratus_.]
GRATUITY, gra-t[=u]'i-ti, _n._ a present: an acknowledgment of service,
generally pecuniary.--_adj._ GRAT[=U]'ITOUS, done or given for nothing:
voluntary: without reason, ground, or proof.--_adv._ GRAT[=U]'ITOUSLY.
[Fr.,--Low L. _gratuitatem_--L. _gratus_.]
GRATULATORY, grat'[=u]-la-tor-i, _adj._ congratulatory.--_adj._ GRAT'ULANT,
congratulatory.--_v.t._ GRAT'UL[=A]TE, to congratulate.--_n._
GRATUL[=A]'TION, congratulation.
GRAVAMEN, grav-[=a]'men, _n._ grievance: the substantial or chief ground of
complaint or accusation: the name for the statement of abuses, grievances,
&c. sent by the Lower to the Upper House of Convocation. [L.,--_gravis_,
heavy.]
GRAVE, gr[=a]v, _v.t._ to carve or cut on a hard substance: to
engrave.--_v.i._ to engrave:--_pa.p._ graved or gr[=a]v'en.--_n._ a pit
graved or dug out, esp. one in which to bury the dead: any place of burial:
the abode of the dead: (_fig._) death: destruction.--_n.pl._
GRAVE'-CLOTHES, the clothes in which the dead are buried.--_n._
GRAVE'-DIG'GER, one who digs graves.--_adj._ GRAVE'LESS (_Shak._), without
a grave, unburied.--_ns._ GRAVE'-MAK'ER (_Shak._), a grave-digger;
GRAVE'-STONE, a stone laid over, or placed at the head of, a grave as a
memorial; GRAVE'YARD, a yard or enclosure used as a burial-ground.--WITH
ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE, on the very borders of death. [A.S. _grafan_; Dut.
_graven_, Ger. _graben_; Gr. _graphein_, to scratch, L. _scrib[)e]re_, to
write.]
GRAVE, gr[=a]v, _v.t._ to smear with graves or greaves, a mixture of
tallow, rosin, &c. boiled together.--_ns.pl._ GRAVES, GREAVES,
tallow-drippings. [See GREAVES.]
GRAVE, gr[=a]v, _adj._ of importance: serious: not gay or showy: sober:
solemn; weighty: (_mus._) not acute: low.--_n._ the grave accent, or its
sign (`).--_adv._ GRAVE'LY.--_n._ GRAVE'NESS. [Fr.,--L. _gravis_.]
GRAVE, gr[=a]v, _n._ a count, prefect, a person holding office, as in
landgrave, margrave, burgrave, &c. [Dut. _graaf_, Ger. _graf_.]
GRAVEL, grav'el, _n._ small stones often intermixed with sand: small
collections of gravelly matter in the kidneys or bladder.--_v.t._ to cover
with gravel: to puzzle, perplex:--_pr.p._ grav'elling; _pa.p._
grav'elled.--_adj._ GRAV'ELLY.--_ns._ GRAV'EL-PIT, a pit from which gravel
is dug; GRAV'EL-WALK, a footpath covered with gravel. [O. Fr. _gravele_
(Fr. _gravier_); prob. Celt., as in Bret. _grouan_, sand, W. _gro_,
pebbles.]
GRAVEN, gr[=a]v'n, _pa.p._ of _grave_, to carve, engrave.
GRAVEOLENT, grav'[=e]-o-lent, _adj._ giving forth an offensive smell.--_n._
GRAV'EOLENCE.
GRAVER, gr[=a]v'[.e]r, _n._ an engraver: a tool for engraving on hard
substances, a burin.
GRAVID, grav'id, _adj._ heavy, esp. as being with child: pregnant. [L.
_gravidus_--_gravis_, heavy.]
GRAVIGRADE, grav'i-gr[=a]d, _adj._ walking heavily.--_n._ an animal like
the megatherium, &c.
GRAVING, gr[=a]v'ing, _n._ an act of graving or cutting out on hard
substances: that which is graved or cut out: carved-work: act of cleaning a
ship's bottom.--_n._ GRAV'ING-DOCK, a dock into which ships are taken to
have their bottoms cleaned.
GRAVITY, grav'i-ti, _n._ weightiness: that attraction between bodies, or
acceleration of one toward another, of which the fall of a body to the
ground is an example: state of being grave or sober: relative importance:
(_mus._) lowness of a note.--_n._ GRAVIM'ETER, an instrument for
determining specific gravities.--_v.i._ GRAV'IT[=A]TE, to be acted on by
gravity: to tend towards the earth: to be strongly attracted towards
anything.--_n._ GRAVIT[=A]'TION, act of gravitating: the tendency of all
bodies to attract each other.--_adj._ GRAV'IT[=A]TIVE.--SPECIFIC GRAVITY
(see SPECIFIC). [Fr. _gravité_--L. _gravitat-em_--_gravis_, heavy.]
GRAVY, gr[=a]v'i, _n._ the juices from meat while cooking.--_n._
GRAV'Y-BOAT, a vessel for gravy or sauce. [Earlier _greavy_; prob.
originally an adj. formed _greaves_, the dregs of tallow.]
GRAY, GREY, gr[=a], _adj._ of a white colour mixed with black:
ash-coloured: (_fig._) aged, gray-haired, mature.--_n._ a gray colour: an
animal of a grayish colour, as a horse, &c.--_v.t._ to cause to become
gray: to give a soft effect to a photograph by covering the negative while
printing with a ground-glass plate: to depolish.--_v.i._ to grow or become
gray.--_n._ GRAY'BEARD, one with a gray beard--hence an old man: a coarse
earthenware vessel for holding liquors, a bellarmine.--_adjs._
GRAY'-COAT'ED (_Shak._), having a gray coat; GRAY'-EYED (_Shak._), having
gray eyes.--_n._ GRAY'-FLY (_Milt._), the trumpet or gad fly.--_adjs._
GRAY'-HAIRED, GRAY'-HEAD'ED, having gray hair.--_n._ GRAY'HOUND (same as
GREYHOUND).--_adj._ GRAY'ISH, somewhat gray.--_ns._ GRAY'-LAG, the common
gray or wild goose; GRAY'LING, a silvery gray fish of the salmon family,
but with a smaller mouth and teeth, and larger scales.--_adv._
GRAY'LY.--_ns._ GRAY'NESS; GRAY'-OWL, the common tawny owl; GRAY'STONE, a
grayish or greenish volcanic rock allied to basalt; GRAYWETH'ER (see
GREYWETHER).--GRAY MARE (see MARE). [A.S. _gr['æ]g_; allied to Ger. _grau_,
and L. _ravus_, tawny.]
GRAYWACKE, GREYWACKE, grä'wak-e, _n._ a kind of sandstone, consisting of
rounded pebbles and sand firmly united together. [Ger. _grauwacke_--_grau_,
gray, _wacke_, a flint.]
GRAZE, gr[=a]z, _v.t._ to eat or feed on grass: to feed or supply with
grass: (_obs._) to tend while grazing.--_v.i._ to eat grass: to supply
grass.--_ns._ GRAZ'ER, an animal which grazes; GRAZIER (gr[=a]'zh[.e]r),
one who grazes or pastures cattle and rears them for the market; GRAZ'ING,
the act of feeding on grass: the feeding or raising of cattle. [From
_grass_.]
GRAZE, gr[=a]z, _v.t._ to pass lightly along the surface. [Ety. dub.; perh.
only a special use of _graze_ above; perh. coined from _rase_ (Fr.
_raser_), the initial _g_ due to the analogy of _grate_.]
GREASE, gr[=e]s, _n._ soft thick animal fat: oily matter of any kind: an
inflammation in the heels of a horse, marked by swelling, &c.--_v.t._
(sometimes pron. gr[=e]z) to smear with grease, to lubricate--also used
figuratively, to cause to go easily: (_obs._) to bribe--as in to 'grease
the palm.'--_adv._ GREAS'ILY.--_n._ GREAS'INESS.--_adj._ GREAS'Y, of or
like grease or oil: smeared with grease: smooth: fat. [O. Fr. _gresse_,
fatness, _gras_, fat--L. _crassus_, gross.]
GREAT, gr[=a]t, _adj._ large: long continued: superior: distinguished:
highly gifted: noble: mighty: sublime: of high rank: chief: proud,
arrogant: weighty: difficult: important: pregnant, teeming: indicating one
degree more remote in the direct line of descent, as GREAT'-GRAND'FATHER,
GREAT'-GRAND'SON.--_adj._ GREAT'-BEL'LIED (_Shak._), pregnant.--_n._
GREAT'COAT, an overcoat.--_v.t._ GREAT'EN (_Browning_), to make
great.--_v.i._ to become great.--_ns._ GREAT'-GRAND'CHILD, the child of a
grandchild; GREAT'-GRAND'MOTHER, the mother of a grand-parent.--_adj._
GREAT'-HEART'ED, having a great or noble heart: high-spirited:
noble.--_adv._ GREAT'LY.--_ns._ GREAT'NESS; GREAT'-PRIM'ER (see PRIMER);
GREATS, the final examination in the Honours Schools at Oxford, &c.;
GREAT'-UN'CLE, usually grand-uncle, a grandfather's or grandmother's
brother.--GREAT DANE, one of a breed of large close-haired dogs from
Denmark, a boar-hound; GREAT POWERS, the chief countries of Europe--France,
Germany, Russia, Great Britain, Austro-Hungary; GREAT SCHISM, the division
between the Latin and Greek Churches, begun in the 9th century, and
culminating in 1054; GREAT SEA, the Mediterranean; GREAT UNWASHED, an
absurd term sometimes applied to the working classes generally.--GREATER
BRITAIN, the whole colonial empire of Great Britain.--THE GREAT, people of
rank. [A.S. _greát_; Dut. _groot_, Ger. _gross_; perh. allied to _grand_,
_gross_, _grow_.]
GREAVE, gr[=e]v, _n._ (_Spens._) a groove, a grove.
GREAVE. See GREEVE.
GREAVES, gr[=e]vz, _n.pl._ the sediment of melted tallow pressed into cakes
for dogs' food.--Also GRAVES. [Prov. Sw. _grevar_, tallow-leavings; cf.
Ger. _griebe_.]
GREAVES, gr[=e]vz, _n.pl._ ancient armour for the legs, of leather, &c. [O.
Fr. _greves_--_greve_, shin-bone.]
GREBE, gr[=e]b, _n._ an aquatic bird, having a long conical beak, short
wings, and no tail. [Fr. _grèbe_; from Celt., as in Bret. _krib_, a comb,
W. _crib_, crest.]
GRECIAN, gr[=e]'shan, _adj._ pertaining to Greece.--_n._ a native of
Greece: one well versed in the Greek language and literature: (_B._) a
Hellenising Jew, or Jew who spoke Greek: one of the senior boys of Christ's
Hospital: (_slang_) an Irish labourer newly over.--_v.t._ GR[=E]'CISE, to
make Grecian: to translate into Greek.--_v.i._ to speak Greek.--_n._
GR[=E]'CISM, an idiom of the Greek language.--_adj._ GR[=E]'CO-R[=O]'MAN,
of or pertaining to both Greece and Rome, esp. to the art cultivated by
Greeks under Roman domination (see also WRESTLING).--GRECIAN BEND, a
foolish mode of walking with a slight bend forward, at one time affected by
a few women who fondly thought to imitate the pose of a figure like the
Venus of Milo. [Fr. _Grec_--L. _Græcus_--Gr. _Graikos_.]
GRECQUE, grek, _n._ a vessel with a perforated bottom for making coffee
without grounds: a Greek fret.
GREE, gr[=e], _n._ (_Spens._) good-will, favour: the prize of the
day.--_v.i._ (_Shak._) to agree. [O. Fr. _gre_--L. _gratus_, pleasing. See
AGREE.]
GREE, gr[=e], _n._ degree, rank: a step:--_pl._ GREES, GRECE, GRESE,
steps--in turn used as a sing. and spelt GREECE, GREESE, GRIECE, GRIZE, a
flight of steps, a staircase, a degree (GREES'ING, GRES'SING, and even
GR[=E]'CIAN are obs. forms).--_adj._ GRIECED, having steps. [O. Fr.
_gre_--L. _gradus_. See GRADE.]
GREEDY, gr[=e]d'i, _adj._ having a voracious appetite: covetous: eagerly
desirous.--_n._ GREED, an eager desire or longing: covetousness.--_adv._
GREED'ILY.--_n._ GREED'INESS. [A.S. _gr['æ]dig_; Dut. _gretig_.]
GREEK, gr[=e]k, _adj._ Grecian.--_n._ a Grecian: the language of Greece:
(_B._) a Greek by race, or more frequently a Gentile as opposed to a Jew, a
Hellenising Jew, a Jew naturalised in foreign countries: a cunning rogue, a
merry fellow: any language of which one is ignorant, jargon, anything
unintelligible.--_adj._ GREEK'ISH.--GREEK ARCHITECTURE, the orders
developed in ancient Greece (Corinthian, Doric, Ionic); GREEK CHURCH, the
church of those Christians who follow the ancient rite of the East and
accept the first seven councils, rejecting all later innovations and papal
supremacy--it is called Orthodox by reason of its vindications of dogma,
and Eastern from its geographical distribution; GREEK CROSS (see CROSS);
GREEK FIRE, a composition, burning either in or under water, supposed to
have been made of asphalt, nitre, and sulphur, long kept secret by the
Greeks of the Byzantine empire for their exclusive use in war; GREEK GIFT,
a treacherous gift (from Virgil's _Æneid_, ii. 49).--AT THE GREEK CALENDS,
never, the Greeks having no calends.
GREEN, gr[=e]n, _adj._ of the colour of growing plants: growing: vigorous:
new: unripe: inexperienced, simple, raw, easily imposed on: young.--_n._
the colour of growing plants: a small green or grassy plat, esp. that
common to a village or town for public or merely ornamental purposes: the
plot of grass belonging to a house or group of houses, usually at the back:
(_golf_) the whole links on which the game is played, the putting-ground
round the individual holes, generally counted as 20 yards from the hole all
round: (_pl._) fresh leaves: wreaths: the leaves and stems of green
vegetables for food, esp. plants of the cabbage kind, spinach, &c.: a
political party at Constantinople, under Justinian, opposed to the
Blues.--_ns._ GREEN'BACK, popular name for the paper money first issued by
the United States in 1862; GREEN'-CLOTH, a gaming-table: a department of
the royal household, chiefly concerned with the commissariat--from the
green cloth on the table round which its officials sat; GREEN'-CROP, a crop
of green vegetables, as grasses, turnips, &c.; GREEN'-EARTH, a mineral of a
green colour and earthy character, used as a pigment by painters in
water-colours; GREEN'ERY, green plants: verdure.--_adj._ GREEN'-EYED,
having green eyes: (_fig._) jealous--GREEN-EYED MONSTER, jealousy.--_ns._
GREEN'FINCH, GREEN LINNET, a native bird of the finch family, of a green
colour, slightly mixed with gray and brown; GREEN'GROCER, a grocer or
dealer who retails greens, or fresh vegetables and fruits; GREEN'-HAND, an
inferior sailor; GREEN'-HEART, or _Bebeeru_, a very hard variety of wood
found in the West Indies and South America; GREEN'HORN, a raw,
inexperienced youth; GREEN'HOUSE, a building, chiefly covered with glass
and artificially heated, for the protection of exotic plants, or to quicken
the cultivation of other plants or fruit; GREEN'ING (_Keats_), a becoming
green: a kind of apple green when ripe.--_adj._ GREEN'ISH, somewhat
green.--_n._ GREEN'ISHNESS.--_adv._ GREEN'LY, immaturely,
unskilfully.--_ns._ GREEN'NESS; GREEN'ROOM, the retiring-room of actors in
a theatre, which originally had the walls coloured green; GREEN'SAND, a
sandstone in which green specks of iron occur; GREEN'SHANK, a bird of the
snipe family, in the same genus as the redshank and some of the sandpipers;
GREEN'-SICK'NESS, chlorosis (see under CHLORINE); GREEN'-SNAKE, a harmless
colubrine snake common in the southern United States; GREEN'STONE, a rock
term, now disused, for any dark-green basic crystalline (trap-rock);
GREEN'SWARD, sward or turf green with grass; GREEN'-TEA (see TEA); GREENTH,
greenness, verdure; GREEN'-TUR'TLE (see TURTLE); GREEN'-VIT'RIOL (see
VIT'RIOL); GREEN'-WEED, a name given to certain half-shrubby species of
genista; GREEN'WOOD, a wood or collection of trees covered with leaves:
wood newly cut--also used as an _adj._, as in 'the greenwood
shade.'--_adj._ GREEN'Y.--GREEN IN MY EYE, in a colloquial question=Do I
look credulous or easily imposed on?--GREEN, or EMERALD, ISLE,
IRELAND.--GREENSTICK FRACTURE (see FRACTURE). [A.S. _gréne_; Ger. _grün_,
Dut. _groen_, green, Ice. _grænn_, allied to _grow_.]
GREENGAGE, gr[=e]n'g[=a]j, _n._ a green and very sweet variety of plum.
[Said to be named from Sir W. _Gage_ of Hengrave Hall, near Bury, before
1725.]
GREESE, GREESING. See GREE (2).
GREET, gr[=e]t, _v.t._ to salute or address with kind wishes: to send kind
wishes to: to congratulate.--_v.i._ to meet and salute:--_pr.p._ greet'ing;
_pa.p._ greet'ed.--_n._ GREET'ING, expression of kindness or joy:
salutation. [A.S. _grétan_, to go to meet; Dut. _groeten_, Ger. _grüssen_,
to salute.]
GREET, gr[=e]t, _v.i._ (_Spens._) to cry, weep.--_adj._ GREET'ING,
mournful.--_n._ weeping. [A.S. _gr['æ]tan_; Goth. _gretan_.]
GREEVE, gr[=e]v, _n._ (_Scot._) a reeve, a steward.--Also GREAVE, GRIEVE.
[Not like _reeve_ from A.S. _geréfa_; but from Ice. _greifi_; cf. Ger.
_graf_.]