grist
/ɡɹɪst/ noun, verb
Forms grists gristing gristed
- noun Grain that is to be ground in a mill.
- noun (dated, collective) A group of bees.
- noun (colloquial, obsolete) Supply; provision.
- noun (ropemaking) A given size of rope, common grist being a rope three inches in circumference, with twenty yarns in each of the three strands.
- verb (transitive) To grind in a mill.
Etymology
From Middle English grist, gryst, from Old English grist, gyrst (“the action of grinding, corn for grinding, gnashing”), of obscure origin: possibly from a pre-Germanic substrate language, or from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *gredaną (“to crunch”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rub, grind”). Cognate with Old Saxon gristgrimmo (“gnashing of the teeth”), German Griesgram (“a grumbler, a grouch, peevishness, misery”), Old English gristel (“gristle”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun Ground corn; that which is ground at one time; as much grain as is carried to the mill at one time, or the meal it produces.
- noun Supply; provision. Swift.
Etymology [AS. grist, fr. grindan. See Grind.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “grist”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details