gridiron
/ˈɡɹɪdaɪən/ noun, verb
Forms gridirons gridironing gridironed
- noun An instrument of torture on which people were secured before being burned by fire.
- noun An iron rack or grate used for broiling meat and fish over coals.
- noun Any object resembling the rack or grate.
- noun (nautical) An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs.
- noun (theater) A raised framework from which lighting is suspended.
- noun (American football) The field on which American football is played.
- noun (uncountable, Australia and New Zealand) American and Canadian football, particularly when used to distinguish from other codes of football.
- verb To mark or cover with lines; to crisscross.
- verb (New Zealand, historical) To purchase land so that the remaining adjacent sections are smaller than the minimum area purchasable as freehold, thus excluding potential freeholders.
Synonyms
football field North American football gridiron football football American football grid
Etymology
From Middle English gridirne, gredirne, gredyron, gredeyron, grydern, grydyryne, girdirin, girderen, variants of Middle English gredire, gredyre, itself an alteration of Middle English gridel (“griddle”). The ending was assimilated to iron, as if from grid + iron, whence grid was later derived.
From resembling the shape of a gridiron (a square rectilinear grid).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A grated iron utensil for broiling flesh and fish over coals.
- noun An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs. 3. (Sport)
Etymology [OE. gredire, gredirne, from tthe same source as E. griddle, but the ending wass confused with E. iron. See Griddle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gridiron”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details