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grits

 - 7 dictionary results
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grits

  [grits]
Use grits in a Sentence
–noun (used with a singular or plural verb)
1. Also called hominy grits. coarsely ground hominy, boiled and sometimes then fried, eaten as a breakfast dish or as a side dish with meats.
2. grain hulled and coarsely ground.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME gryttes (pl.), OE gryt(t); c. G Grütze
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Since 1736. Southern Style Corn Meal, Grits, Hushpuppy Mixes!
www.LakesideMills.com

grit

  [grit] noun, verb, grit⋅ted, grit⋅ting.
–noun
1. abrasive particles or granules, as of sand or other small, coarse impurities found in the air, food, water, etc.
2. firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck: She has a reputation for grit and common sense.
3. a coarse-grained siliceous rock, usually with sharp, angular grains.
4. British. gravel.
5. sand or other fine grainy particles eaten by fowl to aid in digestion.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause to grind or grate together.
–verb (used without object)
7. to make a scratchy or slightly grating sound, as of sand being walked on; grate.
—Idiom
8. grit one's teeth, to show tenseness, anger, or determination by or as if by clamping or grinding the teeth together.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME gret, griet, grit, OE grēot; c. G Griess, ON grjōt pebble, boulder; see grits

Related forms:
gritless, adjective
gritter, noun

Synonyms:
2. resolution, fortitude, courage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To grits
grit   (grĭt)   
n.  

  1. Minute rough granules, as of sand or stone.

  2. The texture or fineness of sand or stone used in grinding.

  3. A coarse hard sandstone used for making grindstones and millstones.

  4. Informal Indomitable spirit; pluck.

v.   grit·ted, grit·ting, grits

v.   tr.

  1. To clamp (the teeth) together.

  2. To cover or treat with grit.

v.   intr.
To make a grinding noise.

[Middle English gret, sand, from Old English grēot.]
grits   (grĭts)   
pl.n.   (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

  1. A ground, usually white meal of dried and hulled corn kernels that is boiled and served as a breakfast food or side dish.

  2. Coarsely ground grain, especially corn.


[Alteration of Middle English grutta, coarse meal, from Old English grytta, pl. of grytt.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
grit

  1. n.
    courage; nerve. : It takes a lot of grit to do something like that.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

grit 
O.E. greot "sand, dust, earth, gravel," from P.Gmc. *greutan "tiny particles of crushed rock" (cf. O.S. griot, O.Fris. gret, O.N. grjot "rock, stone," Ger. Grieß "grit, sand"), from PIE ghreu- "rub, pound, crush" (cf. Lith. grudas "corn, kernel," O.C.S. gruda "clod"). Sense of "pluck, spirit" first recorded Amer.Eng. 1808. Gritty in sense of "unpleasant" (of literature, etc.) is 1882, in reference to the sensation of eating gritty bread.

grits 
O.E. grytt (pl. grytta) "coarse meal, groats, grits," from P.Gmc. *grutja-, from the same root as grit, the two words having influenced one another in sound development. In Amer.Eng., corn-based grits and hominy (q.v.) were used interchangeably in Colonial times. Later, hominy meant whole kernels that had been skinned but not ground, but in the U.S. South, hominy meant skinned kernels that could be ground coarsely to make grits. In New Orleans, whole kernels are big hominy and ground kernels little hominy.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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