graspless

[Eng. grasp; -le .] Relaxed, not grasping. "From my grasple hand Drop friendship's precious pearls, like hour-gla sand." Cole ridge: On a Friend. gra , *græs, *gras, *gra e, *gres, *gre , *gre e, *gers, *gerse, *gri , *gyrse, s . [A. S. gærs , græs ; cogn. with Dut.gras ; Sw. & Dan. gräs ; Icel. gras ; Goth. gras ; Ger. gras.] I. Ord. Lang.: The herbage, or verdant covering of the earth. "She checks her reins, and on the verdant gra , Beneath the covering trees her limbs she throws." Hoole: Orlando Furioso , xxiii. II. Technically: 1. Botany: (1) Strictly: (a) Sing .: Any plant belonging to the order Graminacese and no others. (b) Pl.: The order Graminaceæ. (2) Loosely: (a) The popular name of various endogens, some of them not belonging to the Graminacese. Thus, the Arrow Gra is Trig loch in, a genus of Juncaginacese, and the Cotton Gra is Eriophorum, a genus of Cyperacese. (b) The popular name for various genera, which are not even endogens. Thus, the Gra of Parna us (Parna ia) is an exogen of the order Saxifragacese; and the Goose Gra ( Galium aparine ), also an exogen, of the order Rubiaceæ. The numerous plant names, in which gra is the last word of a compound, will be found scattered throughout the work. They are too numerous to be brought together here. 2. Scripture : (1) Lit.: In the same sense as I. 1. (2) Fig.: That which is fading, or subject to IMG:content-0711.png:[blocks in formation]