grist

Etymology

From Middle English grist, gryst, from Old English grist, gyrst (“the action of grinding, corn for grinding, gnashing”), from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *gredaną (“to crunch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrew- (“to rub, grind”). Cognate with Old Saxon gristgrimmo (“gnashing of the teeth”), German Griesgram (“a grumbler, a grouch, peevishness, misery”), Old English gristel (“gristle”). More at gristle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹɪst/
• Rhymes: -ɪst

Noun

grist (countable and uncountable, plural grists)

1. Grain that is to be ground in a mill.
   • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:

     Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.

2. (obsolete) A group of bees.
3. (colloquial, obsolete) Supply; provision.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Jonathan Swift to this entry?)

4. (ropemaking) A given size of rope, common grist being a rope three inches in circumference, with twenty yarns in each of the three strands.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Anagrams

• Grits, girts, grits, strig, trigs

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

grist

1. second- and third-person singular present indicative of grissen
2. (archaic) plural imperative of grissen

Alternative forms

• grisa, griset

Verb

grist

1. past participle of grise