small grainn.adj.
/ˈsmɔːl ɡreɪn/, U.S. /ˈsmɔl ˌɡreɪn/, /ˈsmɑl ˌɡreɪn/ Agriculture. Now chiefly North American.
A. n.
As a mass noun: cereals having a small grain head, such as wheat, barley, oats, etc., esp. (in later use) in contrast to larger row crops such as maize. Also (as a count noun): a type of such cereal.
ΚΠ
1655 B. W. in S. Hartlib Legacy (ed. 3) 106 For..taking off the suckers, though this be a very necessary management in taller Plants..I saw not how this could take..place in Barley, and such small grain.
1699 S. Grascome Appeal to all True English-men 3 I am apt to think there may be a great deal of small Grain, especially in chalky Land.
1786 W. Hansbrough Let. 20 Nov. in G. Washington Papers (1995) Confederation Ser. IV. 390 I have sold 22 bushels of small grain.
1802 J. Blair Let. 2 Feb. in Papers of John Steele (1924) I. 250 Cheapsides is sewed in Small Grain wheat ry and barly.
1881 Rep. Indian Affairs (U.S.) 27 The spring was so late that it was not deemed advisable to take the risk of the failure of small grain.
1939 E. A. Bessey Text-bk. Mycol. (new ed.) xiv. 390 Scab of the heads of wheat and other small grains.
1962 E. Gibbons Stalking Wild Asparagus 152 Black Mustard..is often a pestiferous weed in fields of small grain.
2001 Hay & Forage Grower Feb. 22/1 Undersander, who has worked extensively with alfalfa nurse crops ranging from peas to small grains like oats and triticale, sees trade-offs with each one.
B. adj. (attributive).
Of or relating to small grain; suitable for or planted with small grain.
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1793 C. F. Greville Brit. India Analyzed III. xvi. 653 August..concludes the Poonass-sussul, or small-grain harvest.
1839 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. xx. 197 The small-grain crops are the greatest exhausters of the fertility of the soil.
1945 J. West Plainville, U.S.A. i. 1 Any road or trail leading off the main highway will wind rockily past the small grain and hay fields.
1990 Farm Jrnl. Jan. a5/1 Corn small-grain land climbed 12%; irrigated land, 18%;..and wheat land, 12%.
2001 Farm Industry News Mar. 10/1 Murray Palin, a small-grain farmer in Calgary, Alberta, knows firsthand how a ‘wheat out’ can get the best of any driver.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
small grain
b. spec. Of gunpowder: a particle of definite size, varying according to requirements. (Also poetic in collective sense.) Also attributive in large grain, small grain, etc. grain powder.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > explosive for use with firearms > grain of
corn1595
powder corn1612
grain1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 817 The Smuttie graine With sudden blaze diffus'd, inflames the Aire. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 515 Sulphurous and Nitrous Foame..they reduc'd To blackest grain, and into store conveyd. View more context for this quotation
1716 J. Gay Trivia iii. 78 The smutty Train With running Blaze awakes the barrell'd Grain.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Cannon The powder..expands so as to occupy a much greater space than when in grains.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 248 All barrels have a size of grain that will suit them best.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 92 Large grain, or common powder.
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n.adj.1655as lemmas