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gridiron - 4 dictionary results

grid⋅i⋅ron

[grid-ahy-ern]
–noun
1. a football field.
2. a utensil consisting of parallel metal bars on which to broil meat or other food.
3. any framework or network resembling a gridiron.
4. a structure above the stage of a theater, from which hung scenery and the like are manipulated.
–verb (used with object)
5. to mark off into squares or design with a network of squares.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME gridirne, gridir(e), gridere, var. of gridel griddle; variants in -irne, -ire, etc. are associated by folk etymology with ModE var. irne, ire iron
grid·i·ron   (grĭd'ī'ərn)   
n.  
  1. Football
    1. The field of play.
    2. The game itself.
    3. A flat framework of parallel metal bars used for broiling meat or fish.
    4. An object resembling such a framework.
  2. A metal structure high above the stage of a theater, from which ropes or cables are strung to scenery and lights.
    1. A flat framework of parallel metal bars used for broiling meat or fish.
    2. An object resembling such a framework.

[Middle English gridirne, alteration (influenced by iren, irne, iron) of gridere, alteration of gridel; see griddle.]

Gridiron

Grid"i`ron\, n. [OE. gredire, gredirne, from the same source as E. griddle, but the ending was confused with E. iron. See Griddle.]

1. A grated iron utensil for broiling flesh and fish over coals.

2. (Naut.) An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs.

Gridiron pendulum. See under Pendulum.

Gridiron valve (Steam Engine), a slide valve with several parallel perforations corresponding to openings in the seat on which the valve moves.

gridiron 
c.1330, griderne, alteration (by association with iron) of gridire (c.1290), a variant of gridil (see griddle). Confusion of "l" and "r" was common in Norman dialect.
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