Grid Was Cut Out of Gridiron
A grid is a pattern of crossing lines. The word was shortened from the name of a cooking rack.
A grid is a network of crossing lines or bars. The word is a back-formation from *gridiron*, a metal cooking rack, which itself has nothing to do with iron: it came from *gredil*, a griddle, and was reshaped by folk etymology because the thing was made of iron. The electricity *grid* is named for the crossing pattern of transmission lines on a map, and *off-grid* now means disconnected from any shared supply.
- A network of lines. *A street grid.*
- An electrical network. *The national grid.*
- A starting formation. *The starting grid.*
- Gridiron — the source word. *A gridiron.*
- Back-formation. *From the 1830s.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | grid | A grid. |
| Plural | grids | Grids. |
| Compound | gridlock | Gridlock. |
| Source | gridiron | A gridiron. |
| Related | griddle | A griddle. |
- The streets follow a grid.Layout.
- Power comes from the grid.Electricity.
- It was cut from gridiron.Etymology.
Back-formations in English
- Grid — from gridiron
- Edit — from editor
- Burgle — from burglar
- Donate — from donation
- Televise — from television
A back-formation from *gridiron*, itself from Middle English *gredil*, a griddle, reshaped by association with iron.
Where does grid come from?
It was cut out of gridiron, a cooking rack. The longer word came from griddle and was reshaped by association with iron.
What is a back-formation?
A word made by removing what looks like an affix from a longer word, as edit was formed from editor.