Grain — Defs

01 v. & n. See Groan.

1.
See Groan.[Obs.] See: Groan.

02 n. A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.

1.
A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.
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.
“Storehouses crammed with grain.” — Shak.
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.
“I . . . with a grain of manhood well resolved.” — Milton.
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. See: Gram.
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.
“All in a robe of darkest grain.” — Milton.

“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.
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.
“Hard box, and linden of a softer grain.” — Dryden.
7.
The direction, arrangement, or appearance of the fibers in wood, or of the strata in stone, slate, etc.
“Knots, by the conflux of meeting sap, Infect the sound pine and divert his grain Tortive and errant from his course of growth.” — Shak.
8.
The fiber which forms the substance of wood or of any fibrous material.
9.
The hair side of a piece of leather, or the marking on that side.
10.
The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff. Also: draff
11.
A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock. See Grained, a., 4.(Bot.) See: Grained
12.
Temper; natural disposition; inclination.[Obs.]
“Brothers . . . not united in grain.” — Hayward.
13.
A sort of spice, the grain of paradise.[Obs.]
“He cheweth grain and licorice, To smellen sweet.” — Chaucer.

“The red roses flush up in her cheeks . . . Likce crimson dyed in grain.” — Spenser.

03 v. t. To paint in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.

imp. & p. p. Grained; p. pr. & vb. n. Graining.

1.
To paint in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.
2.
To form (powder, sugar, etc.) into grains.
3.
To take the hair off (skins); to soften and raise the grain of (leather, etc.).

04 v. i. To yield fruit.

1.
To yield fruit.[Obs.]
2.
To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization; to granulate.

05 n. A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant.

1.
A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant.[Obs.]
2.
A tine, prong, or fork.
3.
A blade of a sword, knife, etc.
4.
A thin piece of metal, used in a mold to steady a core.(Founding)