grain

Everyday

1. Grain is the seeds of plants like wheat, rice, oats, barley and corn, used for food. tree →
2. A grain is one tiny hard piece of something, like a grain of sand, salt or sugar. tree →
3. The grain of wood is the pattern of lines in it. tree →
4. A grain of something can mean a very small amount, like a grain of truth. tree →

In the lessons

A crop measured in bags, tons or bushels, sold or stored; sometimes tiny grains counted. In science and health: whole grains (brown rice, oats, wholemeal bread) are good food; flour is ground grain. In stories: the farmer, the mill, the little red hen. Phrases: «a grain of sand», «whole grain», «against the grain», «a grain of truth».

Examples

• The farmer stores 500 kilograms of grain. tree →
• Each bag holds 25 kilograms of grain. tree →
• A hen eats 100 grams of grain a day. tree →
• The truck carries 3 tons of grain. tree →
• There were grains of sand in my shoes. tree →
• Wholegrain bread has more fibre. tree →
• The little red hen planted grains of wheat. tree →
• Sand the wood along the grain. tree →
• He wanted to save at least some of his grain. tree →

Note

An amount that is weighed, not counted, when used as a crop; per bag or per day it is a rate. Trap: watch the units (grams, kilograms, tons) before adding. Crop sense is uncountable («a lot of grain»); a single piece is countable («three grains of rice»).

In Jewish tradition

Seeds of crops like wheat and barley, or a single kernel or particle. "Corn" in these texts means grain in general.

Interpretation. Grain was a main offering, and the first of the harvest was brought to God. Amos's picture of not even the least grain falling is read as God's care to save the faithful even while Israel is scattered.

Examples

• The grains shrivel under their hoes; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. (Prophets JOL.1.17, JPS 1917) tree →
• Thy seed also would be as the sand, and the offspring of thy body like the grains thereof; his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before Me. (Prophets ISA.48.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. (Prophets AMO.9.9, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

An amount that is weighed, not counted, when used as a crop; per bag or per day it is a rate. Trap: watch the units (grams, kilograms, tons) before adding. Crop sense is uncountable («a lot of grain»); a single piece is countable («three grains of rice»).