gridiron

== English == === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡɹɪdaɪən/ === Etymology 1 === 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. ==== Noun ==== gridiron (plural gridirons) An instrument of torture on which people were secured before being burned by fire. [from 13th c.] An iron rack or grate used for broiling meat and fish over coals. [from 14th c.] ===== Derived terms ===== gridiron football gridiron pendulum gridiron valve gridironer on the gridiron ===== Related terms ===== iron grid ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From resembling the shape of a gridiron (a square rectilinear grid). ==== Noun ==== gridiron (countable and uncountable, plural gridirons) Any object resembling the rack or grate. [from 15th c.] (nautical) An openwork frame on which vessels are placed for examination, cleaning, and repairs. (theater) A raised framework from which lighting is suspended. (American football) The field on which American football is played. [from 19th c.] (uncountable, Australia and New Zealand) American and Canadian football, particularly when used to distinguish from other codes of football. 1995 October 3, Peter O′Shea, Sports: Out on the field, The Advocate, page 54, He represented Australia in this year′s rugby tour of England and is as well-known in Australia as any top gridiron player is in the United States. 2009, Deborah Healey, Sport and the Law, reference note, UNSW Press, page 271, 119 Yasser (1985) cites the famous US example of gridiron player Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears. ===== Synonyms ===== (playing field for American football): football field (football, Canadian and American): North American football, gridiron football, football (North American English) (American football): football (US English) ===== Derived terms ===== griddy ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== gridiron (third-person singular simple present gridirons, present participle gridironing, simple past and past participle gridironed) To mark or cover with lines; to crisscross. (New Zealand, historical) To purchase land so that the remaining adjacent sections are smaller than the minimum area purchasable as freehold, thus excluding potential freeholders. === See also === gridiron on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Category:gridirons on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons === References ===