Part 4927

<h1>Grail</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grail</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OF. <ets>greel</ets>, LL. <ets>gradale.</ets> See <er>Gradual</er>, <tt>n.</tt>]</ety> <def>A book of offices in the Roman Catholic Church; a gradual.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>T. Warton.</i>

<blockquote>Such as antiphonals, missals, <b>grails</b>, processionals, etc. <i>Strype.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Grail</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grail</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OF. <ets>graal</ets>, <ets>greal</ets>, greet, F. <ets>graal</ets>, <ets>gr?al</ets>, LL. <ets>gradalis</ets>, <ets>gradale</ets>, prob. derived fr. L. <ets>crater</ets> bowl, mixing vessel, Gr. <grk>krath`r</grk>. See <er>Crater.</er>]</ety> <def>A broad, open dish; a chalice; -- only used of the Holy Grail.</def>

<note>&hand;The <i>Holy Grail</i>, according to some legends of the Middle Ages, was the cup used by our Savior in dispensing the wine at the last supper; and according to others, the platter on which the paschal lamb was served at the last Passover observed by our Lord. This cup, according to the legend, if appoached by any but a perfectly pure and holy person, would be borne away and vanish from the sight. The <i>quest </i> of the Holy Grail was to be undertaken only by a knight who was perfectly chaste in thought, word, and act.</note]>

<h1>Grail</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grail</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[F. <ets>gr&ecir;le</ets> hail, from <ets>gr\'90s</ets> grit, OHG. <ets>griex</ets>, <ets>grioz</ets>, G. <ets>gries</ets>, gravel, grit. See <er>Grit.</er>]</ety> <def>Small particles of earth; gravel.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<blockquote>Lying down upon the sandy <b>grail.</b> <i>Spenser.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Grail</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grail</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Cf. OF. <ets>graite</ets> slender, F. <ets>gr&ecir;te</ets>.]</ety> <def>One of the small feathers of a hawk.</def>

<h1>Graille</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Graille</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Cf. F. <ets>gr&ecir;le</ets> a sort of file.]</ety> <def>A halfround single-cut file or fioat, having one curved face and one straight face, -- used by comb makers.</def>

<i>Knight.</i>

<h1>Grain</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grain</hw>, <tt>v. & n.</tt> <def>See <er>Groan.</er></def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<h1>Grain</h1> <Xpage=643>

<hw>Grain</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[F. <ets>grain</ets>, L. <ets>granum</ets>, grain, seed, small kernel, small particle. See <er>Corn</er>, and cf. <er>Garner</er>, <tt>n.</tt>, <er>Garnet</er>, <er>Gram</er> the chick-pea, <er>Granule</er>, <er>Kernel.</er>]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>A single small hard seed; a kernel, especially of those plants, like wheat, whose seeds are used for food.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>The fruit of certain grasses which furnish the chief food of man, as corn, wheat, rye, oats, etc., or the plants themselves; -- used collectively.</def>

<blockquote>Storehouses crammed with <b>grain.</b> <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Any small, hard particle, as of sand, sugar, salt, etc.; hence, any minute portion or particle; <as>as, a <ex>grain</ex> of gunpowder, of pollen, of starch, of sense, of wit, etc.</as></def>

<blockquote>I . . . with a <b>grain</b> of manhood well resolved. <i>Milton.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>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 <er>Gram.</er> </def>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>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 <cref>Tyrian purple</cref>.</def>

<blockquote>All in a robe of darkest <b>grain.</b> <i>Milton.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>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 <b>grain.</b> <i>Quoted by Coleridge, preface to Aids to Reflection.</i></blockquote>