Grate and Great Sound the Same and Mean Nothing Alike
A grate is a metal frame, and to grate is to shred or irritate. It is a homophone of great and unrelated to it.
A grate is a metal frame of bars, especially in a fireplace, and to grate is to shred food or to irritate. It is a homophone of *great* and entirely unrelated: the metal frame comes from Latin *cratis*, wickerwork, while shredding comes from a Germanic word meaning to scrape. Great is an old English word for large. *Grating* on someone's nerves uses the scraping sense as a metaphor for irritation.
- A metal frame. *An iron grate.*
- To shred. *Grate the cheese.*
- To irritate. *It grates on me.*
- Grater — the kitchen tool. *A cheese grater.*
- Great — the homophone. *A great success.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | grate | A fire grate. |
| Verb | grate | Grate it finely. |
| Past | grated | Grated cheese. |
| Agent | grater | A grater. |
| Adjective | grating | A grating voice. |
- The fire burned low in the grate.Fireplace.
- Grate the parmesan over the pasta.Cooking.
- His tone grates on me.Irritation.
The cratis family
- Grate — a frame of bars
- Grating — a barred cover over an opening
- Grid — a shortened form of gridiron
- Crate — probably the same root, from wickerwork
- Griddle — a related cooking plate
The frame is from Medieval Latin *grata*, from Latin *cratis*, wickerwork. The verb is from Old French *grater*, to scrape, of Germanic origin.
Grate or great?
Grate is the metal frame or the shredding verb. Great means large or excellent. They are unrelated homophones.
Are the two grates the same word?
No. The metal frame is from Latin for wickerwork; the shredding verb is Germanic and means to scrape.