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grate (n.)

late 14c., "grill for cooking;" early 15c., "iron bars or cagework across a door or window," from Anglo-Latin (mid-14c.), from Old French grate or directly from Medieval Latin grata "a grating, lattice," from Latin cratis "wickerwork, hurdle" (see hurdle (n.)). As a verb meaning "to fit with a grate," from mid-15c. Related: Grated; grating.

grate (v.)

"to scrape, rub," late 14c. (implied in grated), from Old French grater "to scrape, scratch (out or off); erase; destroy, pull down" (Modern French gratter), from Frankish *kratton, from Proto-Germanic *krattojan (source also of Old High German krazzon "to scratch, scrape," German kratzen "to scratch," Swedish kratta, Danish kratte "to rake, scrape"), probably of imitative origin. Senses of "sound harshly," and "annoy" are mid-16c. Italian grattare also is from Germanic. Related: Grated; grating.

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Definitions of grate from WordNet
1
grate (v.)
furnish with a grate;
a grated fireplace
grate (v.)
gnaw into; make resentful or angry;
Synonyms: eat into / fret / rankle
grate (v.)
reduce to small shreds or pulverize by rubbing against a rough or sharp perforated surface;
grate carrots and onions
grate nutmeg
grate (v.)
make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together;
grate one's teeth in anger
Synonyms: grind
grate (v.)
scratch repeatedly;
Synonyms: scrape
2
grate (n.)
a frame of iron bars to hold a fire;
Synonyms: grating
grate (n.)
a harsh rasping sound made by scraping something;
grate (n.)
a barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air;
Synonyms: grating
From wordnet.princeton.edu