grin
- grin
- [OE] Modern English grin and groan are
scarcely semantic neighbours, but a possible
common ancestor may provide the link:
prehistoric Indo-European *ghrei-, which seems
to have meant something like ‘be open’. It has
253 groin
been suggested as the source of a range of verbs
which started off denoting simply ‘open the
mouth’, but have since differentiated along the
lines ‘make noise’ and ‘grimace’. Grin has taken
the latter course, but close relatives, such as Old
High German grennan ‘mutter’ and Old Norse
grenja ‘howl’, show that the parting of the
semantic ways was not so distant in time. Old
English grennian actually meant ‘draw back the
lips and bare the teeth in pain or anger’. Traces
of this survive in such distinctly unfunny
expressions as ‘grinning skull’, but the modern
sense ‘draw back the lips in amusement’ did not
begin to emerge until the 15th century. Groan
[OE], on the other hand, is firmly in the ‘make
noise’ camp.
=> GROAN
The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins.
2013.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Grin — may refer to: * A facial expression: see Smile * Alexander Grin, (1880 1932) a Russian novelist * GRIN (novel) , a novel by Hungarian writer Béla Kasztovszky * Grin (album) , an album by the thrash metal band Coroner * Grin (band), a band formed… … Wikipedia
Grin — als Vorname: Grin (11. Jahrhundert), latinisiert Grinus, Vater des Abotriten Fürsten Kruto. Grin als Familienname: Alexander Grin (1880–1932), russischer Schriftsteller François Grin (* 1959), Schweizer Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Jean Pierre Grin … Deutsch Wikipedia
GRIN (A.) — GRIN ALEXANDRE STEPANOVITCH GRINEVSKI dit (1880 1932) Personnage extraordinaire des lettres russes, Alexandre Grin se forge une destinée personnelle aux antipodes de la biographie traditionnelle des écrivains issus de l’intelligentsia. Échappé au … Encyclopédie Universelle
Grin — Grin, n. [AS. grin.] A snare; a gin. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Like a bird that hasteth to his grin. Remedy of Love. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Grin — Grin, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Grinned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Grinning}.] [OE. grinnen, grennen, AS. grennian, Sw. grina; akin to D. grijnen, G. greinen, OHG. grinan, Dan. grine. [root]35. Cf. {Groan}.] 1. To show the teeth, as a dog; to snarl. [1913… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Grin — Grin, n. The act of closing the teeth and showing them, or of withdrawing the lips and showing the teeth; a hard, forced, or sneering smile. I.Watts. [1913 Webster] He showed twenty teeth at a grin. Addison. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
GRIN — GRIN: GRIN частная компания, разработчик компьютерных игр и игрового движка «Diesel». Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) информационный проект, предоставляющий генетическую и другую информацию о живых организмах … Википедия
grin — sb., et, grin, ene; være til grin … Dansk ordbog
grin — ► VERB (grinned, grinning) 1) smile broadly. 2) grimace grotesquely in a way that reveals the teeth. ► NOUN ▪ a smile or grimace produced by grinning. ● grin and bear it Cf. ↑grin and bear it … English terms dictionary
grin — [grin] vi. grinned, grinning [ME grennen < OE grennian, to gnash or bare the teeth, akin to OHG grennan, to mutter, Ger greinen, to weep] 1. to smile broadly as in amusement or pleasure, or, sometimes, in embarrassment 2. to draw back the lips … English World dictionary
Grin — Grin, v. t. To express by grinning. [1913 Webster] Grinned horrible a ghastly smile. Milton … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
