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Added 10 October 2026

gridiron

/ˈɡɹɪdaɪən/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gridiron at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An instrument of torture on which people were secured before being burned by fire. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
An iron rack or grate used for broiling meat and fish over coals.

noun

Any object resembling the rack or grate.
An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs.
A raised framework from which lighting is suspended.

verb

To mark or cover with lines; to crisscross.
To purchase land so that the remaining adjacent sections are smaller than the minimum area purchasable as freehold, thus excluding potential freeholders.

Origin

From Middle English gridirne, gredirne, gredyron, gredeyron, grydern, grydyryne, girdirin, girderen, variants of Middle English gredire, gredyre, itself an alteration of Middle English gridel (“griddle”). The ending was assimilated to iron, as if from grid + iron, whence grid was later derived.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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