gnash
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English gnasten. Origin unknown; the word is probably either Germanic or onomatopoeic. Compare Old Norse gnastan, Danish gnaske ("munch", "crunch"), German knirschen, German Low German gnirschen, gnörschen (“gnash”).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
gnash (third-person singular simple present gnashes, present participle gnashing, simple past and past participle gnashed)
- (transitive) To grind (one's teeth) in pain or in anger.
- gnashing your teeth
- (transitive) To grind between the teeth.
- to gnash the air in fury
- The dog was gnashing a carpet
- (figurative) To clash together violently.
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- There they were, boiling up in snowy spouts of spray, smiting and gnashing together like the gleaming teeth of hell.
- (Geordie) To run away.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
to grind one's teeth in pain or in anger
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Noun edit
gnash (plural gnashes)
- A sudden snapping of the teeth.