grao

See also: grão, graõ, and graó

English

Etymology

From Portuguese grão (“grain”), from Old Galician-Portuguese grão, from Latin grānum. Doublet of corn, grain, gram, and granum.

Noun

grao (plural graos)

1. (historical) A traditional short Portuguese unit of length, equivalent to about 4.6 mm.
2. (historical) A traditional short Portuguese unit of mass, equivalent to about 50 mg.

Synonyms

• Portuguese grain, grain (Portuguese contexts)

Coordinate terms

• (unit of length): ponto (¹⁄₂₄ grao), linha (¹⁄₂ grao), dedo (4 graos), polegada (6 graos)
• (unit of mass): vintem (2+¹⁄₄ graos), quilate (4 graos), escropulo (24 graos), oitava (72 graos), onça (576 graos)

Anagrams

• goar, Argo, Goar, rago, Rago, gora, Agro, Gora, agro, Garo, agro-

Galician

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɾao/ [ˈɡɾɑ.ʊ]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ˈɡɾao/ [ˈɡɾɑ.ʊ]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /ˈħɾao/ [ˈħɾɑ.ʊ]

• • Rhymes: -ao

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɾaw/ [ˈɡɾɑw]

• IPA^(key): (standard) /ˈɡɾaw/ [ˈɡɾɑw]
• IPA^(key): (gheada) /ˈħɾaw/ [ˈħɾɑw]

• • Rhymes: -aw
• Hyphenation: gra‧o

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin gradus.

Noun

grao m (plural graos)

1. degree (of temperature)
2. (genealogy) degree
   • 1274, M. Lucas Alvarez & P. P. Lucas Domínguez (ed.), San Pedro de Ramirás. Un monasterio femenino en la Edad Media. Colección diplomática. Santiago: Publicacións de Caixa Galicia, page 391:

     E se alguun ome uel moler contra esta mýa vendicon a deromper veer, assy de mýa parte como doutra agia a mýa maldiçon ata setimo grao e a yra de Deus pro sempre

     If any man or woman against this my selling comes, for breaking it, from my part as well as other's, have my curse until the seventh degree and the wrath of God forever

3. academic degree
4. degree (of angle measure)
5. (mathematics) degree of a polynomial
6. shore, strand

Etymology 2

Noun

grao m (plural graos)

1. alternative form of gran (“grain”)

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “grao”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “grao”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “grao”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “grao”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *grāu, from Proto-Germanic *grēwaz.

Adjective

grāo

1. grey

Inflection

Declension of grāo (wa-stem)

strong declension
case	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
nominative	grāo	grāo	grāo	grāwa, grāwe
accusative	grāwan, grāwen	grāwa	grāo	grāwa, grāwe
genitive	grāwes	grāwero	grāwes	grāwero
dative	grāwin, grāwemo	grāwero	grāwin, grāwemo	grāwon
weak declension
case	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
nominative	grāwo	grāwa	grāwa	grāwon
accusative	grāwon	grāwon	grāwa	grāwon
genitive	grāwin	grāwon	grāwin	grāwono
dative	grāwin	grāwon	grāwin	grāwon

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: grau
  • Dutch: grauw, graauw, graeuw (obsolete)
    • Afrikaans: grou
    • Jersey Dutch: xrāuje, grô
    • Negerhollands: grou

References

“grāo”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old High German

Alternative forms

• crâo

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *grāu, see also Old English græġ, Old Norse grár.

Adjective

grāo

1. grey

Declension

Strong declension of grao

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwēr, grāo	grāwiu, grāo	grāwaȥ, grāo
accusative	grāwan	grāwa	grāwaȥ, grāo
genitive	grāwes	grāwera	grāwes
dative	grāwemu	grāweru	grāwemu
instrumental	grāwu	—	grāwu
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwe, grāo	grāwo, grāo	grāwiu, grāo
accusative	grāwe	grāwo	grāwiu, grāo
genitive	grāwero	grāwero	grāwero
dative	grāwēm	grāwēm	grāwēm

Weak declension of grao

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwo	grāwa	grāwa
accusative	grāwon	grāwūn	grāwa
genitive	grāwen	grāwūn	grāwen
dative	grāwen	grāwūn	grāwen
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwon	grāwūn	grāwon
accusative	grāwon	grāwūn	grāwon
genitive	grāwōno	grāwōno	grāwōno
dative	grāwōm	grāwōm	grāwōm

Declension of comparative of grao

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōro	grāwōra	grāwōra
accusative	grāwōron	grāwōrūn	grāwōra
genitive	grāwōren	grāwōrūn	grāwōren
dative	grāwōren	grāwōrūn	grāwōren
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōron	grāwōrūn	grāwōron
accusative	grāwōron	grāwōrūn	grāwōron
genitive	grāwōrōno	grāwōrōno	grāwōrōno
dative	grāwōrōm	grāwōrōm	grāwōrōm

Strong declension of superlative grao

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōstēr, grāwōst	grāwōstiu, grāwōst	grāwōstaȥ, grāwōst
accusative	grāwōstan	grāwōsta	grāwōstaȥ, grāwōst
genitive	grāwōstes	grāwōstera	grāwōstes
dative	grāwōstemu	grāwōsteru	grāwōstemu
instrumental	grāwōstu	—	grāwōstu
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōste, grāwōst	grāwōsto, grāwōst	grāwōstiu, grāwōst
accusative	grāwōste	grāwōsto	grāwōstiu, grāwōst
genitive	grāwōstero	grāwōstero	grāwōstero
dative	grāwōstēm	grāwōstēm	grāwōstēm

Weak declension of superlative grao

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōsto	grāwōsta	grāwōsta
accusative	grāwōston	grāwōstūn	grāwōsta
genitive	grāwōsten	grāwōstūn	grāwōsten
dative	grāwōsten	grāwōstūn	grāwōsten
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	grāwōston	grāwōstūn	grāwōston
accusative	grāwōston	grāwōstūn	grāwōston
genitive	grāwōstōno	grāwōstōno	grāwōstōno
dative	grāwōstōm	grāwōstōm	grāwōstōm

Descendants

• Middle High German: grā
  • Alemannic German: graaw
  • Bavarian: grau

    Gottscheerish: grūb

  • Central Franconian:

    Hunsrik: grau

    Luxembourgish: gro

  • East Central German:

    Vilamovian: graoj

  • East Franconian:
  • German: grau
  • Rhine Franconian:

    Frankfurterisch: IPA [kʀoː], (newer, from about 1925) [kʀau]

    Pennsylvania German: gro

  • Yiddish: גראָ (gro), גרוי (groy)

See Further

• Karg-Gasterstädt, Elisabeth; Frings, Theodor; et al., editors (1952–2022), “grâo”, in Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[1] (in German), Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, via Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig

See also

Colors in Old High German · farawa, farwa (layout · text)

wīȥ	grāo	swarz
rōt	gelewrōt, gelorōt, rōtgelo; brūn, ërpf	gelo
	gruoni
	blāo	blāo
	purpura

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *grāu, see also Old English græġ, Old Norse grár.

Adjective

grāo

1. grey

Declension

Declension of grāo

Strong declension
	singular	plural
	masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative	grāo	grāo	grāo	grāwe	grāwu	grāwe
accusative	grāwana	grāo	grāwa	grāwe	grāwu	grāwe
genitive	grāwes	grāwes	grāwaro	grāwarō	grāwarō	grāwarō
dative	grāwumu	grāwumu	grāwaro	grāwum	grāwum	grāwum
Weak declension
	singular	plural
	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative	grāwo	grāwa	grāwa	grāwu
accusative	grāwun	grāwa	grāwun	grāwun
genitive	grāwun	grāwun	grāwun	grāwonō
dative	grāwun	grāwun	grāwun	grāwum

Descendants

• Middle Low German: grāu
  • Low German:
    • German Low German: grag, grau
  • Plautdietsch: greiw
  • → West Frisian: grauw

Portuguese

Noun

grao m (plural graos)

1. obsolete spelling of grau
2. obsolete spelling of grão

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin gradus

Catalan graubor.

Spanish grao

Borrowed from Catalan grau (“step, stair”). Doublet of grado.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɾao/ [ˈɡɾa.o]
• Rhymes: -ao
• Syllabification: gra‧o

Noun

grao m (plural graos)

1. shore, strand

Further reading

• “grao”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025