grail


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grail

 (grāl)
n.
1. Grail A cup or plate that, according to medieval legend, was used by Jesus at the Last Supper and later became the object of many chivalric quests.
2. often Grail The object of a prolonged endeavor. In both senses also called Holy Grail.
[Middle English greal, from Old French graal, from Medieval Latin gradālis, flat dish, of unknown origin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Grail

(ɡreɪl)
n
(European Myth & Legend) See Holy Grail
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

grail

(greɪl)

n.
1. (usu. cap.) a cup or chalice that in medieval legend was associated with unusual powers and was much sought after by knights: identified with the cup used at the Last Supper and given to Joseph of Arimathea.
2. (sometimes cap.) any greatly desired and sought-after objective.
Also called Holy Grail.
[1300–50; < Anglo-French grahel, Old French gräel, grel < Medieval Latin gradālis platter, of uncertain orig.]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Grail

 small particles of any kind—Johnson, 1755.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.grail - the object of any prolonged endeavor
objective, aim, object, target - the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable); "the sole object of her trip was to see her children"
2.grail - (legend) chalice used by Christ at the Last Suppergrail - (legend) chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper
Holy Grail, Sangraal
legend, fable - a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

Grail

[greɪl] N the (Holy) Grail → el (Santo) Grial
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Grail

[ˈgreɪl] n
the Grail → le Graal
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

grail

n → Gral m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
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The Holy Grail was said to be a dish used by Christ at the Last Supper.
He makes the knights of the round table set forth to search for the Grail. They ride far away over hill and dale, through dim forests and dark waters.
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You see, he was going for the Holy Grail. The boys all took a flier at the Holy Grail now and then.
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In the morning of life they are rapt by intoxicating visions of some great haberdashery business, beckoned to by the voluptuous enticements of the legal profession, or maybe the Holy Grail they forswear all else to seek is a snug editorial chair.
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Ten miles away the island of Murea, like some high fastness of the Holy Grail, guarded its mystery.
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One might just as well try to make out that the history of Guarino Mezquino, or of the quest of the Holy Grail, is false, or that the loves of Tristram and the Queen Yseult are apocryphal, as well as those of Guinevere and Lancelot, when there are persons who can almost remember having seen the Dame Quintanona, who was the best cupbearer in Great Britain.
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'A woman has the right to expect the man she is about to marry to regard their troth as a sacred obligation that shall keep him as pure as a young knight who has dedicated himself to the quest of the Holy Grail. And I find you in a public restaurant, dancing with a creature with yellow hair, upsetting waiters, and staggering about with pats of butter all over you.'
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All about me were nobleness of purpose and heroism of effort, and my days and nights were sunshine and starshine, all fire and dew, with before my eyes, ever burning and blazing, the Holy Grail, Christ's own Grail, the warm human, long-suffering and maltreated but to be rescued and saved at the last."
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`Finding of the Grail,' which is for the apse of the Abbey church.
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Sir Percival Ye Something (which has slipped my memory for the moment) goes out after the Holy Grail; meets damsel in distress; overcomes her persecutors; rescues her; gets wounded, and is nursed back to life in her arms.
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Greatest of the additions to the substance of the cycle was the story of the Holy Grail, originally an altogether independent legend.
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They have been out after the things they wanted--golden fleeces, holy grails, lady loves, treasure, crowns and fame.
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