grail
pronunciation
How to pronounce grail in British English:
UK [greɪl]
How to pronounce grail in American English:
US [ɡreɪl]
-
- Noun:
- (legend) chalice used by Christ at the last supper
Word Origin
- grail (n.)
- c. 1300, gral, "the Holy Grail," from Old French graal, greal "Holy Grail; cup," earlier "large shallow dish, basin," from Medieval Latin gradalis, also gradale, grasale, "a flat dish or shallow vessel." The original form is uncertain; the word is perhaps ultimately from Latin crater "bowl," which is from Greek krater "bowl, especially for mixing wine with water" (see crater (n.)). Holy Grail is anglicized from Middle English seint gral (c. 1300), also sangreal, sank-real (c. 1400), which seems to show deformation as if from sang real "royal blood" (that is, the blood of Christ) The object had been inserted into the Celtic Arthurian legends by 12c., perhaps in place of some pagan otherworldly object. It was said to be the cup into which Joseph of Arimathea received the last drops of blood of Christ (according to the writers who picked up the thread of Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval") or the dish from which Christ ate the Last Supper (Robert de Boron), and ultimately was identified as both ("þe dische wiþ þe blode," "Joseph of Aramathie," c. 1350?).
Example
- 1. It would be , he said , a " holy grail . "
- 2. But the tiny , prefabricated bathroom remains a holy grail of designers , with patents still being pumped out regularly .
- 3. Even mr ballmer conceded back then that he was searching for the " holy grail " of healthcare .
- 4. That source is " holy blood , holy grail " by michael baigent and others .
- 5. The real holy grail for an interstellar mission will be breakthroughs in our ability to harness thermonuclear energy -- namely fusion .