Grain Meaning
/ɡɹeɪn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe harvested seeds of various grass food crops eg: wheat, corn, barley.
nounSimilar seeds from any food crop, e.g., buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa.
Sentence Examples
Rye was called the grain of poverty.
The farmer longs for the day when the grain ripens.
Russia sold 12 million tons of grain abroad last year.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She added a ____ of cinnamon to the recipe for flavor.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer harvested the ____ from his fields and stored it in a large wooden silo to keep it dry for the winter.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English greyn, grayn, grein, from Old French grain, grein, from Latin grānum (“seed”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm (“grain”). Doublet of corn, gram, granum, and grao.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A grain, which in England is generally given to horſes, but which in Scotland ſupports the people."
— 1755 April 15, Samuel Johnson, “Oats”, in A Dictionary of the English Language: […], volume II (L–Z), London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton; […], →OCLC, column 1:
"all in a robe of darkest grain"
— 1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, “Penseroso”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], →OCLC:
"The grain of the leather is also sometimes damaged by the filling , by the taking off the hair , and by the river work."
— 1773, Royal Dublin Society, The Art of Tanning and of Currying Leather:
"brothers […] not united in grain"
— a. 1628 (date written), John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press, and J. Lichfield at Oxford?] for Iohn Partridge, […], published 1630, →OCLC:
"He said that no man loved his horses, unless his own hands grained them. Every Christmas he gave them brimming measures."
— 1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She added a ____ of cinnamon to the recipe for flavor.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer harvested the ____ from his fields and stored it in a large wooden silo to keep it dry for the winter.