grist

Meanings

1. Grain that is to be ground in a mill.
2. A group of bees.
3. Supply; provision.
4. A given size of rope, common grist being a rope three inches in circumference, with twenty yarns in each of the three strands.
5. Ellipsis of grist for the mill.

1. To grind in a mill.

Etymology

From Middle English grist, gryst, from Old English grist, gyrst (“the action of grinding, corn for grinding, gnashing”), of obscure origin: possibly from a pre-Germanic substrate language, or from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *gredaną (“to crunch”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rub, grind”). Cognate with Old Saxon gristgrimmo (“gnashing of the teeth”), German Griesgram (“a grumbler, a grouch, peevishness, misery”), Old English gristel (“gristle”).