Chapter 71

Gra"cious (gr"shs), a. [F. gracieux, L. gratiosus. See Grace.] 1. Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love, or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending; as, his most gracious majesty.

A god ready to pardon, gracious and merciful.

Neh. ix. 17.

So hallowed and so gracious in the time.

Shak.

2. Abounding in beauty, loveliness, or amiability; graceful; excellent.

Since the birth of Cain, the first male child, . . . There was not such a gracious creature born.

Shak.

3. Produced by divine grace; influenced or controlled by the divine influence; as, gracious affections.

Syn. -- Favorable; kind; benevolent; friendly; beneficent; benignant; merciful.

Gra"cious*ly (?), adv. 1. In a gracious manner; courteously; benignantly. Dryden.

2. Fortunately; luckily. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Gra"cious*ness, n. Quality of being gracious.

Grac"kle (?), n. [Cf. L. graculus jackdaw.] (Zoˆl.) (a) One of several American blackbirds, of the family IcteridÊ; as, the rusty grackle (Scolecophagus Carolinus); the boat-tailed grackle (see Boat-tail); the purple grackle (Quiscalus quiscula, or Q. versicolor). See Crow blackbird, under Crow. (b) An Asiatic bird of the genus Gracula. See Myna.

Gra"date (?), v. t. [See Grade.] 1. To grade or arrange (parts in a whole, colors in painting, etc.), so that they shall harmonize.

2. (Chem.) To bring to a certain strength or grade of concentration; as, to gradate a saline solution.

Gra*da"tion (?), n., [L. gradatio: cf. F. gradation. See Grade.] 1. The act of progressing by regular steps or orderly arrangement; the state of being graded or arranged in ranks; as, the gradation of castes.

2. The act or process of bringing to a certain grade.

3. Any degree or relative position in an order or series.

The several gradations of the intelligent universe.

I. Taylor.

4. (Fine Arts) A gradual passing from one tint to another or from a darker to a lighter shade, as in painting or drawing.

6. (Mus.) A diatonic ascending or descending succession of chords.

Gra*da"tion, v. t. To form with gradations. [R.]

Gra*da"tion*al (?), a. By regular steps or gradations; of or pertaining to gradation.

Grad"a*to*ry (?), a. [See Grade.] 1. Proceeding step by step, or by gradations; gradual.

Could we have seen [Macbeth's] crimes darkening on their progress . . . could this gradatory apostasy have been shown us.

A. Seward.

2. (Zoˆl.) Suitable for walking; -- said of the limbs of an animal when adapted for walking on land.

Grad"a*to*ry, n. [Cf. LL. gradatarium.] (Arch.) A series of steps from a cloister into a church.

Grade (?), n. [F. grade, L. gradus step, pace, grade, from gradi to step, go. Cf. Congress, Degree, Gradus.] 1. A step or degree in any series, rank, quality, order; relative position or standing; as, grades of military rank; crimes of every grade; grades of flour.

They also appointed and removed, at their own pleasure, teachers of every grade.

Buckle.

2. In a railroad or highway: (a) The rate of ascent or descent; gradient; deviation from a level surface to an inclined plane; -- usually stated as so many feet per mile, or as one foot rise or fall in so many of horizontal distance; as, a heavy grade; a grade of twenty feet per mile, or of 1 in 264. (b) A graded ascending, descending, or level portion of a road; a gradient.

3. (Stock Breeding) The result of crossing a native stock with some better breed. If the crossbreed have more than three fourths of the better blood, it is called high grade.

At grade, on the same level; -- said of the crossing of a railroad with another railroad or a highway, when they are on the same level at the point of crossing. -- Down grade, a descent, as on a graded railroad. -- Up grade, an ascent, as on a graded railroad. -- Equating for grades. See under Equate. -- Grade crossing, a crossing at grade.

Grade, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Graded; p. pr. & vb. n. Grading.] 1. To arrange in order, steps, or degrees, according to size, quality, rank, etc.

2. To reduce to a level, or to an evenly progressive ascent, as the line of a canal or road.

3. (Stock Breeding) To cross with some better breed; to improve the blood of.

Grade"ly, a. [Cf. AS. grad grade, step, order, fr. L. gradus. See Grade.] Decent; orderly. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. -- adv. Decently; in order. [Prov. Eng.]

Grad"er (?), n. One who grades, or that by means of which grading is done or facilitated.

Gra"di*ent (?), a. [L. gradiens, p. pr. of gradi to step, to go. See Grade.] 1. Moving by steps; walking; as, gradient automata. Wilkins.

2. Rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination; as, the gradient line of a railroad.

3. Adapted for walking, as the feet of certain birds.

Gra"di*ent, n. 1. The rate of regular or graded ascent or descent in a road; grade.

2. A part of a road which slopes upward or downward; a portion of a way not level; a grade.

3. The rate of increase or decrease of a variable magnitude, or the curve which represents it; as, a thermometric gradient.

Gradient post, a post or stake indicating by its height or by marks on it the grade of a railroad, highway, or embankment, etc., at that spot.

{ ||Gra"din (?), Gra*dine" (?),} n. [F. gradin, dim. of grade. See Grade.] (Arch.) Any member like a step, as the raised back of an altar or the like; a set raised over another. "The gradines of the amphitheeater." Layard.

Gra*dine" (?), n. [F. gradine.] A toothed chised by sculptors.

Grad"ing (?), n. The act or method of arranging in or by grade, or of bringing, as the surface of land or a road, to the desired level or grade.

||Gra*di"no (?), n.; pl. Gradinos (#). [It.] (Arch.) A step or raised ||shelf, as above a sideboard or altar. Cf. Superaltar, and Gradin.

Grad"u*al" (?); a. [Cf; F. graduel. See Grade, and cf. Gradual, n.] Proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline.

Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man.

Milton.

Grad"u*al, n. [LL. graduale a gradual (in sense 1), fr. L. gradus step: cf. F. graduel. See Grade, and cf. Grail a gradual.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An antiphon or responsory after the epistle, in the Mass, which was sung on the steps, or while the deacon ascended the steps. (b) A service book containing the musical portions of the Mass.

2. A series of steps. [Obs.] Dryden.

Grad"u*al"i*ty (?), n. The state of being gradual; gradualness. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Grad"u*al*ly (?), adv. 1. In a gradual manner.

2. In degree. [Obs.]

Human reason doth not only gradually, but specifically, differ from the fantastic reason of brutes.

Grew.

Grad"u*al*ness, n. The quality or state of being gradual; regular progression or gradation; slowness.

The gradualness of this movement.

M. Arnold.

The gradualness of growth is a characteristic which strikes the simplest observer.

H. Drummond.

Grad"u*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Graduated (?) p. pr. & vb. n. Graduating (&?;).] [Cf. F. graduer. See Graduate, n., Grade.]

1. To mark with degrees; to divide into regular steps, grades, or intervals, as the scale of a thermometer, a scheme of punishment or rewards, etc.

2. To admit or elevate to a certain grade or degree; esp., in a college or university, to admit, at the close of the course, to an honorable standing defined by a diploma; as, he was graduated at Yale College.

3. To prepare gradually; to arrange, temper, or modify by degrees or to a certain degree; to determine the degrees of; as, to graduate the heat of an oven.

Dyers advance and graduate their colors with salts.

Browne.

4. (Chem.) To bring to a certain degree of consistency, by evaporation, as a fluid.

Graduating engine, a dividing engine. See Dividing engine, under Dividing.

Grad"u*ate, v. i. 1. To pass by degrees; to change gradually; to shade off; as, sandstone which graduates into gneiss; carnelian sometimes graduates into quartz.

2. (Zoˆl.) To taper, as the tail of certain birds.

3. To take a degree in a college or university; to become a graduate; to receive a diploma.

He graduated at Oxford.

Latham.

He was brought to their bar and asked where he had graduated.

Macaulay.

Grad"u*ate (?), n. [LL. graduatus, p. p. of graduare to admit to a degree, fr. L. gradus grade. See Grade, n.] 1. One who has received an academical or professional degree; one who has completed the prescribed course of study in any school or institution of learning.

2. A graduated cup, tube, or flask; a measuring glass used by apothecaries and chemists. See under Graduated.

Grad"u*ate, a. [See Graduate, n. & v.] Arranged by successive steps or degrees; graduated.

Beginning with the genus, passing through all the graduate and subordinate stages.

Tatham.

Grad"u*a"ted (?), a. 1. Marked with, or divided into, degrees; divided into grades.

2. (Zoˆl.) Tapered; -- said of a bird's tail when the outer feathers are shortest, and the others successively longer.

Graduated tube, bottle, cap, or glass, a vessel, usually of glass, having horizontal marks upon its sides, with figures, to indicate the amount of the contents at the several levels. -- Graduated spring (Railroads), a combination of metallic and rubber springs.

Grad"u*ate*ship, n. State of being a graduate. Milton.

Grad"u*a"tion (?), n. [LL. graduatio promotion to a degree: cf. F. graduation division into degrees.]

1. The act of graduating, or the state of being graduated; as, graduation of a scale; graduation at a college; graduation in color; graduation by evaporation; the graduation of a bird's tail, etc.

2. The marks on an instrument or vessel to indicate degrees or quantity; a scale.

3. The exposure of a liquid in large surfaces to the air, so as to hasten its evaporation.

Grad"u*a"tor (?), n. 1. One who determines or indicates graduation; as, a graduator of instruments.

2. An instrument for dividing any line, right or curve, into small, regular intervals.

3. An apparatus for diffusing a solution, as brine or vinegar, over a large surface, for exposure to the air.

||Gra"dus (?), n. [From L. gradus ad Parnassum a step to Parnassus.] A ||dictionary of prosody, designed as an aid in writing Greek or Latin ||poetry.

He set to work . . . without gradus or other help.

T. Hughes.

||Graf (?), n. [G. Cf. -grave.] A German title of nobility, equivalent ||to earl in English, or count in French. See Earl.

Graff (?), n. [OE. grafe, greife, greive. Cf. Margrave.] A steward; an overseer.

[A prince] is nothing but a servant, overseer, or graff, and not the head, which is a title belonging only to Christ.

John Knox.

Graff n. & v. See Graft.

Graff"age (?), n. [Cf. Grave, n.] The scarp of a ditch or moat. "To clean the graffages." Miss Mitford.

Graf"fer (?), n. [See Greffier.] (Law.) a notary or scrivener. Bouvier.

<! p. 643 !>

||Graf*fi"ti (?), n. pl. [It., pl. of graffito scratched] Inscriptions, ||figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ||ruins, as in the Catacombs, or at Pompeii.

Graft (?), n. [OE. graff, F. greffe, originally the same word as OF. grafe pencil, L. graphium, Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. &?; to write; prob. akin to E. carve. So named from the resemblance of a scion or shoot to a pointed pencil. Cf. Graphic, Grammar.] (a) A small shoot or scion of a tree inserted in another tree, the stock of which is to support and nourish it. The two unite and become one tree, but the graft determines the kind of fruit. (b) A branch or portion of a tree growing from such a shoot. (c) (Surg.) A portion of living tissue used in the operation of autoplasty.

Graft, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Grafting.] [F. greffer. See Graft, n.] 1. To insert (a graft) in a branch or stem of another tree; to propagate by insertion in another stock; also, to insert a graft upon. [Formerly written graff.]

2. (Surg.) To implant a portion of (living flesh or akin) in a lesion so as to form an organic union.

3. To join (one thing) to another as if by grafting, so as to bring about a close union.

And graft my love immortal on thy fame !

Pope.

4. (Naut.) To cover, as a ring bolt, block strap, splicing, etc., with a weaving of small cord or rope- yarns.

Graft, v. i. To insert scions from one tree, or kind of tree, etc., into another; to practice grafting.

Graft"er (?), n. 1. One who inserts scions on other stocks, or propagates fruit by ingrafting.

2. An instrument by which grafting is facilitated.

3. The original tree from which a scion has been taken for grafting upon another tree. Shak.

Graft"ing n. 1. (Hort.) The act, art, or process of inserting grafts.

2. (Naut.) The act or method of weaving a cover for a ring, rope end, etc.

3. (Surg.) The transplanting of a portion of flesh or skin to a denuded surface; autoplasty.

4. (Carp.) A scarfing or endwise attachment of one timber to another.

Cleft grafting (Hort.) a method of grafting in which the scion is placed in a cleft or slit in the stock or stump made by sawing off a branch, usually in such a manaer that its bark evenly joins that of the stock. -- Crown, or Rind, grafting, a method of grafting which the alburnum and inner bark are separated, and between them is inserted the lower end of the scion cut slantwise. -- Saddle grafting, a mode of grafting in which a deep cleft is made in the end of the scion by two sloping cuts, and the end of the stock is made wedge-shaped to fit the cleft in the scion, which is placed upon it saddlewise. -- Side grafting, a mode of grafting in which the scion, cut quite across very obliquely, so as to give it the form of a slender wedge, is thrust down inside of the bark of the stock or stem into which it is inserted, the cut side of the scion being next the wood of the stock. -- Skin grafting. (Surg.) See Autoplasty. -- Splice grafting (Hort.), a method of grafting by cutting the ends of the scion and stock completely across and obliquely, in such a manner that the sections are of the same shape, then lapping the ends so that the one cut surface exactly fits the other, and securing them by tying or otherwise. -- Whip grafting, tongue grafting, the same as splice grafting, except that a cleft or slit is made in the end of both scion and stock, in the direction of the grain and in the middle of the sloping surface, forming a kind of tongue, so that when put together, the tongue of each is inserted in the slit of the other. -- Grafting scissors, a surgeon's scissors, used in rhinoplastic operations, etc. -- Grafting tool. (a) Any tool used in grafting. (b) A very strong curved spade used in digging canals. -- Grafting wax, a composition of rosin, beeswax tallow, etc., used in binding up the wounds of newly grafted trees.

Gra"ham bread" (?). [From Sylvester Graham, a lecturer on dietetics.] Bread made of unbolted wheat flour. [U. S.] Bartlett.

Gra"ham*ite (?), n. [See Graham bread.] One who follows the dietetic system of Graham. [U. S.]

Grail (?), n. [OF. greel, LL. gradale. See Gradual, n.] A book of offices in the Roman Catholic Church; a gradual. [Obs.] T. Warton.

Such as antiphonals, missals, grails, processionals, etc.

Strype.

Grail, n. [OF. graal, greal, greet, F. graal, grÈal, LL. gradalis, gradale, prob. derived fr. L. crater bowl, mixing vessel, Gr. krath`r. See Crater.] A broad, open dish; a chalice; -- only used of the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail, 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 quest of the Holy Grail was to be undertaken only by a knight who was perfectly chaste in thought, word, and act.

Grail, n. [F. grÍle hail, from gr…s grit, OHG. griex, grioz, G. gries, gravel, grit. See Grit.] Small particles of earth; gravel. [Obs.]

Lying down upon the sandy grail.

Spenser.

Grail (grl), n. [Cf. OF. graite slender, F. grÍte.] One of the small feathers of a hawk.

Graille (grl), n. [Cf. F. grÍle a sort of file.] A halfround single-cut file or fioat, having one curved face and one straight face, -- used by comb makers. Knight.

Grain, v. & n. See Groan. [Obs.]

Grain (grn), n. [F. grain, L. granum, grain, seed, small kernel, small particle. See Corn, and cf. Garner, n., Garnet, Gram the chick-pea, Granule, Kernel.]

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.

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. Knight.

10. pl. The remains of grain, etc., after brewing or distillation; hence, any residuum. Also called draff.

11. (Bot.) A rounded prominence on the back of a sepal, as in the common dock. See Grained, a., 4.

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.

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 (Zoˆl.), one of several small moths, of the family TineidÊ (as Tinea granella and Butalis cerealella), whose larvÊ 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 (Zoˆl.), a small red weevil (Sitophilus granarius), which destroys stored wheat and other grain, by eating out the interior. -- Grain worm (Zoˆl.), 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.

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.

Grain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grained (grnd); 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.).

Grain, v. i. [F. grainer, grener. See Grain, n.] 1. To yield fruit. [Obs.] Gower.

2. To form grains, or to assume a granular form, as the result of crystallization; to granulate.

Grain (grn), n. [See Groin a part of the body.]

1. A branch of a tree; a stalk or stem of a plant. [Obs.] G. Douglas.

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.

3. A blade of a sword, knife, etc.

4. (Founding) A thin piece of metal, used in a mold to steady a core.

Grained (grnd), a. 1. Having a grain; divided into small particles or grains; showing the grain; hence, rough.

2. Dyed in grain; ingrained.

Persons lightly dipped, not grained, in generous honesty, are but pale in goodness.

Sir T. Browne.

3. Painted or stained in imitation of the grain of wood, marble, etc.

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

Grain"er (grn"r), 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.

2. A knife for taking the hair off skins.

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

Grain"field` (-fld`), n. A field where grain is grown.

Grain"ing, n. 1. Indentation; roughening; milling, as on edges of coins. Locke.

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

3. Painting or staining, in imitation of the grain of wood, stone, etc.

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

Grain"ing, n. (Zoˆl.) A small European fresh-water fish (Leuciscus vulgaris); - - called also dobule, and dace.

Grains (grnz), n. pl. 1. See 5th Grain, n., 2 (b).

2. Pigeon's dung used in tanning. See Grainer. n., 1.

Grain"y (grn"), a. Resembling grains; granular.

Graip (grp), n. [Perh. akin to grope, gripe.] A dungfork. [Scot.] Burns.

Graith (grth), v. t. [Obs.] See Greith. Chaucer.

Graith, n. Furniture; apparatus or accouterments for work, traveling, war, etc. [Scot.] Jamieson.

Gra"kle (grk"'l), n. (Zoˆl.) See Grackle.

||Gral"lÊ (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. grallae stilts, for gradulae, fr. ||gradus. See Grade.] (Zoˆl.) An order of birds which formerly included ||all the waders. By later writers it is usually restricted to the ||sandpipers, plovers, and allied forms; -- called also Grallatores.

||Gral"la*to"res (?), n. pl. [NL. from L. grallator one who runs on ||stilts.] (Zo\94l.) See GrallÊ.

Gral`la*to"ri*al (?), Gral"la*to*ry (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to the Grallatores, or waders.

Gral"lic (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Pertaining to the GrallÊ.

Gral"line (ln), a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to the GrallÊ.

Gral"loch (?), n. Offal of a deer. -- v. t. To remove the offal from (a deer).

-gram (?). [Gr. ? a thing drawn or written, a letter, fr. gra`fein to draw, write. See Graphic.] A suffix indicating something drawn or written, a drawing, writing; -- as, monogram, telegram, chronogram.

Gram (?), a. [AS. gram; akin to E. grim. &radic;35.] Angry. [Obs.] Havelok, the Dane.