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. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. The direction, arrangement, or appearance of the fibers in wood, or of the strata in stone, slate, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knots, by the conflux of meeting sap,
Infect the sound pine and divert his grain
Tortive and errant from his course of growth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. The fiber which forms the substance of wood or of any fibrous material. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. Temper; natural disposition; inclination. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Brothers . . . not united in grain. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. A sort of spice, the grain of paradise. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He cheweth grain and licorice,
To smellen sweet. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 Tineidæ (as Tinea granella and Butalis cerealella), whose larvæ 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 ]

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 ]

v. & n. See Groan. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Grained 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 ]

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 ]

a. 1. Having a grain; divided into small particles or grains; showing the grain; hence, rough. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Dyed in grain; ingrained. [ 1913 Webster ]

Persons lightly dipped, not grained, in generous honesty, are but pale in goodness. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Painted or stained in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Bot.) Having tubercles or grainlike processes, as the petals or sepals of some flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An infusion of pigeon's dung used by tanners to neutralize the effects of lime and give flexibility to skins; -- called also grains and bate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A knife for taking the hair off skins. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who paints in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.; also, the brush or tool used in graining. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A field where grain is grown. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the quality of being composed of relatively large particles.
Syn. -- coarseness, granularity. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. Indentation; roughening; milling, as on edges of coins. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A process in dressing leather, by which the skin is softened and the grain raised. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Painting or staining, in imitation of the grain of wood, stone, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Soap Making) The process of separating soap from spent lye, as with salt. [ 1913 Webster ]