greyn
Middle English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Old French grain, from Latin grānum, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵr̥h₂nóm. Doublet of corn.
Alternative forms
- grayn, grayne, grein, greyne, grone
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡrɛi̯n/
Noun
greyn (plural greynes)
- A seed; any kind of planting body:
- A grain; a cereal seed (especially as food).
- The seed of any plant (especially a fruit or nut).
- A grain or seed used as a unit of weight.
- A plant that bears grain (especially wheat).
- A field planted with such plants.
- A small mote or speck, especially of valuable substances:
- A spice or condiment (especially grains of paradise).
- a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, line 3690-3691:
- But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.
- Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.
-
- A mole or boil; a bodily imperfection.
- A spice or condiment (especially grains of paradise).
- Grain (die made with crushed insects, or a similar long-lasting dye)
- An article of fabric dyed with grain.
Derived terms
- grayned
- greynen
- greynyng
Related terms
- engreynen
- gerner
Descendants
- English: grain
- Scots: grain
- Yola: gryne
References
- “grain, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-09.
Noun
greyn
- Alternative form of grayn