Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Graves noun plural The sediment of melted tallow. Same as Greaves.
Graves' disease [ So called after Dr.
Graves , of Dublin.]
Same as Basedow's disease .
Gravestone noun A stone laid over, or erected near, a grave, usually with an inscription, to preserve the memory of the dead; a tombstone.
Graveyard noun A yard or inclosure for the interment of the dead; a cemetery.
Gravic adjective Pertaining to, or causing, gravitation; as, gravic forces; gravic attraction. [ R.]
Gravid adjective [ Latin
gravidus , from
gravis heavy, loaded. See
Grave ,
adjective ]
Being with child; heavy with young; pregnant; fruitful; as, a gravid uterus; gravid piety. " His
gravid associate."
Sir T. Herbert.
Gravidated adjective [ Latin
gravidatus , past participle of
gravidare to load, impregnate. See
Gravid .]
Made pregnant; big. [ Obsolete]
Barrow.
Gravidation noun Gravidity. [ Obsolete]
Gravidity noun [ Latin graviditas. ] The state of being gravidated; pregnancy. [ R.]
Gravigrade adjective [ Latin gravis heavy + gradus step.] (Zoology) Slow-paced. -- noun One of the pachyderms.
Gravimeter noun [ Latin gravis heavy + -meter : confer French gravimètre .] (Physics) An instrument for ascertaining the specific gravity of bodies.
Gravimetric adjective (Chemistry) Of or pertaining to measurement by weight; measured by weight. -- Grav"i*met"ric*al*ly , adverb
Gravimetric analysis (Chemistry) , analysis in which the amounts of the constituents are determined by weight; -- in distinction from volumetric analysis .
Graving noun [ From
Grave to clean.]
The act of cleaning a ship's bottom. Graving dock .
(Nautical) See under Dock.
Gravitate intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Gravitated ;
present participle & verbal noun Gravitating .] [ Confer French
graviter. See
Gravity. ]
To obey the law of gravitation; to exert a force Or pressure, or tend to move, under the influence of gravitation; to tend in any direction or toward any object. Why does this apple fall to the ground? Because all bodies gravitate toward each other.
Sir W. Hamilton. Politicians who naturally gravitate towards the stronger party.
Macaulay.
Gravitation noun [ Confer F. gravitation. See Gravity.]
1. The act of gravitating. 2. (Pysics) That species of attraction or force by which all bodies or particles of matter in the universe tend toward each other; called also attraction of gravitation , universal gravitation , and universal gravity . See Attraction , and Weight. Law of gravitation ,
that law in accordance with which gravitation acts, namely, that every two bodies or portions of matter in the universe attract each other with a force proportional directly to the quantity of matter they contain, and inversely to the squares of their distances.
Gravitational adjective (Physics) Of or pertaining to the force of gravity; as, gravitational units.
Gravitative adjective Causing to gravitate; tending to a center. Coleridge.
Gravity noun ;
plural Gravities . [ Latin
gravitas , from
gravis heavy; confer French
gravité . See
Grave ,
adjective ,
Grief .]
1. The state of having weight; beaviness; as, the gravity of lead. 2. Sobriety of character or demeanor. "Men of
gravity and learning."
Shak.
Gravy noun ;
plural Gravies . [ Middle English
greavie ; probably from
greaves ,
graves , the sediment of melted tallow. See
Greaves .]
1. The juice or other liquid matter that drips from flesh in cooking, made into a dressing for the food when served up. 2. Liquid dressing for meat, fish, vegetables, etc.
Gray adjective [
Compar. Grayer ;
superl. Grayest .] [ Middle English
gray , grey, Anglo-Saxon
grǣg ,
grēg ; akin to Dutch
graauw , Old High German
grāo , German
grau , Danish
graa , Swedish
grå , Icelandic
grār .] [ Written also
grey .]
1. White mixed with black, as the color of pepper and salt, or of ashes, or of hair whitened by age; sometimes, a dark mixed color; as, the soft gray eye of a dove. These gray and dun colors may be also produced by mixing whites and blacks.
Sir I. Newton. 2. Gray-haired; gray-headed; of a gray color; hoary. 3. Old; mature; as, gray experience. Ames. Gray antimony (Min.) ,
stibnite. --
Gray buck (Zoology) ,
the chickara. --
Gray cobalt (Min.) ,
smaltite. --
Gray copper (Min.) ,
tetrahedrite. --
Gray duck (Zoology) ,
the gadwall; also applied to the female mallard. --
Gray falcon (Zoology) the peregrine falcon. --
Gray Friar .
See Franciscan , and Friar . --
Gray hen (Zoology) ,
the female of the blackcock or black grouse. See Heath grouse . --
Gray mill or millet (Botany) ,
a name of several plants of the genus Lithospermum ; gromwell. --
Gray mullet (Zoology) any one of the numerous species of the genus Mugil , or family Mugilidæ , found both in the Old World and America; as the European species ( M. capito , and M. auratus ), the American striped mullet ( M. albula ), and the white or silver mullet ( M. Braziliensis ). See Mullet . --
Gray owl (Zoology) ,
the European tawny or brown owl ( Syrnium aluco ). The great gray owl ( Ulula cinerea ) inhabits arctic America. --
Gray parrot (Zoology) ,
a parrot ( Psittacus erithacus ), very commonly domesticated, and noted for its aptness in learning to talk. --
Gray pike .
(Zoology) See Sauger . --
Gray snapper (Zoology) ,
a Florida fish; the sea lawyer. See Snapper . --
Gray snipe (Zoology) ,
the dowitcher in winter plumage. --
Gray whale (Zoology) ,
a rather large and swift California whale ( Rhachianectes glaucus ), formerly taken in large numbers in the bays; -- called also grayback , devilfish , and hardhead .
Gray noun 1. A gray color; any mixture of white and black; also, a neutral or whitish tint. 2. An animal or thing of gray color, as a horse, a badger, or a kind of salmon. Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day.
That coats thy life, my gallant gray .
Sir W. Scott.
Grayback noun (Zoology) (a) The California gray whale. (b) The redbreasted sandpiper or knot. (c) The dowitcher. (d) The body louse.
Graybeard noun An old man. Shak.
Grayfly noun (Zoology) The trumpet fly. Milton.
Grayhound (-hound`)
noun (Zoology) See Greyhound .
Grayish adjective Somewhat gray.
Graylag noun (Zoology) The common wild gray goose ( Anser anser ) of Europe, believed to be the wild form of the domestic goose. See Illust . of Goose .
Grayling noun [ From
Gray ,
adjective ]
1. (Zoology) A European fish ( Thymallus vulgaris ), allied to the trout, but having a very broad dorsal fin; -- called also umber . It inhabits cold mountain streams, and is valued as a game fish. And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling.
Tennyson. 2. (Zoology) An American fish of the genus Thymallus , having similar habits to the above; one species ( T. Ontariensis ), inhabits several streams in Michigan; another ( T. montanus ), is found in the Yellowstone region.
Grayness noun The quality of being gray.
Graystone noun (Geol.) A grayish or greenish compact rock, composed of feldspar and augite, and allied to basalt.
Graywacke noun [ German
grauwacke ;
grau gray +
wacke wacke. See
Gray , and
Wacke , and confer
Grauwacke .]
(Geol.) A conglomerate or grit rock, consisting of rounded pebbles and sand firmly united together. » This term, derived from the
grauwacke of German miners, was formerly applied in geology to different grits and slates of the Silurian series; but it is now seldom used.
Graze (grāz)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Grazed (grāzd);
present participle & verbal noun Grazing .] [ Middle English
grasen , Anglo-Saxon
grasian , from
græs grass. See
Grass .]
1. To feed or supply (cattle, sheep, etc.) with grass; to furnish pasture for. A field or two to graze his cows.
Swift. 2. To feed on; to eat (growing herbage); to eat grass from (a pasture); to browse. The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead.
Pope. 3. To tend (cattle, etc.) while grazing. When Jacob grazed his uncle Laban's sheep.
Shak. 4. To rub or touch lightly the surface of (a thing) in passing; as, the bullet grazed the wall.
Graze intransitive verb 1. To eat grass; to feed on growing herbage; as, cattle graze on the meadows. 2. To yield grass for grazing. The ground continueth the wet, whereby it will never graze to purpose.
Bacon. 3. To touch something lightly in passing.
Graze noun 1. The act of grazing; the cropping of grass. [ Colloq.]
Turning him out for a graze on the common.
T. Hughes. 2. A light touch; a slight scratch.
Grazer noun One that grazes; a creature which feeds on growing grass or herbage. The cackling goose,
Close grazer , finds wherewith to ease her want.
J. Philips.
Grazier noun One who pastures cattle, and rears them for market. The inhabitants be rather . . . graziers than plowmen.
Stow.
Grazing noun
1. The act of one who, or that which, grazes. 2. A pasture; growing grass.
Grazioso adverb [ Italian , adj. See
Gracious .] (
Mus. )
Gracefully; smoothly; elegantly.
Gre noun See Gree , a step. [ Obsolete]
Gre noun See Gree , good will. [ Obsolete]
Grease (grēs)
noun [ Middle English
grese ,
grece , French
graisse ; akin to
gras fat, greasy, from Late Latin
grassus thick, fat, gross, Latin
crassus . Confer
Crass .]
1. Animal fat, as tallow or lard, especially when in a soft state; oily or unctuous matter of any kind. 2. (Far.) An inflammation of a horse's heels, suspending the ordinary greasy secretion of the part, and producing dryness and scurfiness, followed by cracks, ulceration, and fungous excrescences. Grease bush .
(Botany) Same as Grease wood (below). --
Grease moth (Zoology) ,
a pyralid moth ( Aglossa pinguinalis ) whose larva eats greasy cloth, etc. --
Grease wood (Botany) ,
a scraggy, stunted, and somewhat prickly shrub ( Sarcobatus vermiculatus ) of the Spinach family, very abundant in alkaline valleys from the upper Missouri to California. The name is also applied to other plants of the same family, as several species of Atriplex and Obione .
Grease (grēz
or grēs; 277)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Greased (grēzd
or grēsd);
present participle & verbal noun Greasing .]
1. To smear, anoint, or daub, with grease or fat; to lubricate; as, to grease the wheels of a wagon. 2. To bribe; to corrupt with presents. The greased advocate that grinds the poor.
Dryden. 3. To cheat or cozen; to overreach. [ Obsolete]
Beau. & Fl. 4. (Far.) To affect (a horse) with grease, the disease. To grease in the hand ,
to corrupt by bribes. Usher.
Grease cock, cup (Machinery) A cock or cup containing grease, to serve as a lubricator.
Greaser noun
1. One who, or that which, greases; specifically, a person employed to lubricate the working parts of machinery, engines, carriages, etc. 2. A nickname sometimes applied in contempt to a Mexican of the lowest type. [ Low, U. S.]
Greasily adverb 1. In a greasy manner. 2. In a gross or indelicate manner. [ Obsolete]
You talk greasily ; your lips grow foul.
Shak.
Greasiness noun The quality or state of being greasy, oiliness; unctuousness; grossness.
Greasy adjective [
Compar. Greasier ;
superl. Greasiest .]
1. Composed of, or characterized by, grease; oily; unctuous; as, a greasy dish. 2. Smeared or defiled with grease. With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers.
Shak. 3. Like grease or oil; smooth; seemingly unctuous to the touch, as is mineral soapstone. 4. Fat of body; bulky. [ R.]
Shak. 5. Gross; indelicate; indecent. [ Obsolete]
Marston. 6. (Far.) Affected with the disease called grease ; as, the heels of a horse. See Grease , noun , 2.
Great adjective [
Compar. Greater ;
superl. Greatest .] [ Middle English
gret , great, Anglo-Saxon
greát ; akin to Old Saxon & LG.
grōt , Dutch
groot , Old High German
grōz , German
gross . Confer
Groat the coin.]
1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little ; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length. 2. Large in number; numerous; as, a great company, multitude, series, etc. 3. Long continued; lengthened in duration; prolonged in time; as, a great while; a great interval. 4. Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings. 5. Endowed with extraordinary powers; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; strong; powerful; mighty; noble; as, a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, etc. 6. Holding a chief position; elevated: lofty: eminent; distinguished; foremost; principal; as, great men; the great seal; the great marshal, etc. He doth object I am too great of birth.
Shak. 7. Entitled to earnest consideration; weighty; important; as, a great argument, truth, or principle. 8. Pregnant; big (with young). The ewes great with young.
Ps. lxxviii. 71. 9. More than ordinary in degree; very considerable in degree; as, to use great caution; to be in great pain. We have all
Great cause to give great thanks.
Shak. 10. (Genealogy) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct line of descent; as, great-grandfather (a grandfather's or a grandmother's father), great- grandson, etc. Great bear (
Astron. ),
the constellation Ursa Major. --
Great cattle (
Law ),
all manner of cattle except sheep and yearlings. Wharton. --
Great charter (
Eng. Hist. ),
Magna Charta. --
Great circle of a sphere ,
a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere. --
Great circle sailing ,
the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places. --
Great go ,
the final examination for a degree at the University of Oxford, England; -- called also greats . T. Hughes. --
Great guns .
(Nautical) See under Gun. --
The Great Lakes the large fresh-water lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) which lie on the northern borders of the United States. --
Great master .
Same as Grand master , under Grand . --
Great organ (Mus.) ,
the largest and loudest of the three parts of a grand organ (the others being the choir organ and the swell , and sometimes the pedal organ or foot keys), It is played upon by a separate keyboard, which has the middle position. --
The great powers (of Europe),
in modern diplomacy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy. --
Great primer .
See under Type . --
Great scale (
Mus. ),
the complete scale; -- employed to designate the entire series of musical sounds from lowest to highest. --
Great sea ,
the Mediterranean sea. In Chaucer both the Black and the Mediterranean seas are so called. --
Great seal .
(a) The principal seal of a kingdom or state. (b) In Great Britain, the lord chancellor (who is custodian of this seal); also, his office. --
Great tithes .
See under Tithes. --
The great ,
the eminent, distinguished, or powerful. --
The Great Spirit ,
among the North American Indians, their chief or principal deity. --
To be great (with one),
to be intimate or familiar (with him). Bacon.
Great noun The whole; the gross; as, a contract to build a ship by the great .