grin

See also: grín and grîn

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: grĭn, IPA^(key): /ɡɹɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪn

Etymology 1

Before 1000 CE - From Middle English grinnen, from Old English grennian, of Germanic origin and probably related to groan. Compare to Old High German grennan (“to mutter”) and Danish grine (“to show one's teeth, to laugh”)

Alternative forms

• gren (obsolete)

Noun

A stylized grin.

grin (plural grins)

1. A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth.
   • 1997, Linda Howard, Son of the Morning, Simon & Schuster, page 364:

     When the ceremony was finished a wide grin broke across his face, and it was that grin she saw, relieved and happy all at once.

   • 2003, Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor:

     When my son appeared at the door the next day with his schoolbag on his back, the Professor broke into a wide grin and opened his arms to embrace him.

Derived terms

• Chelsea grin
• coprophagous grin
• grip-and-grin

 

Translations

A smile revealing the teeth

• Bulgarian: крива усмивка f (kriva usmivka)
• Cebuano: yuhom
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 露齿而笑 (zh) (lùchǐ'érxiào)

• Coastal Kadazan: ngingis
• Danish: grin n
• Dutch: grijns (nl) m or f
• Finnish: virnistys (fi), virne (fi)
• French: sourire (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Grinsen (de) n
• Hungarian: vigyor (hu), vigyorgás (hu)
• Icelandic: glott n
• Ingrian: irvissös
• Irish: straoise f
• Italian: sorriso (it) m
• Malay: sengihan
• Maori: pakiri
• Maranao: ngimel
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: glis n

• Polish: banan (pl), uśmiech od ucha do ucha, szeroki uśmiech
• Portuguese: sorriso aberto m
• Russian: усме́шка (ru) f (usméška), ухмы́лка (ru) f (uxmýlka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кез m, церек m

  Roman: kez m, cerek m

• Slovak: úškrn m
• Spanish: sonrisa abierta f, sonrisa amplia f
• Swedish: flin (sv) n
• Ukrainian: по́смішка (pósmiška), у́смішка (uk) (úsmiška)

Verb

grin (third-person singular simple present grins, present participle grinning, simple past and past participle grinned)

1. (intransitive) To smile, parting the lips so as to show the teeth.

   Why do you grin?  Did I say something funny?

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’

2. (transitive) To express by grinning.

   She grinned pleasure at his embarrassment.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Grinned horrible a ghastly smile.

   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     "Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins," remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: "Mon dieu! Mon dieu! Che fais mourir!"

3. (intransitive, dated) To show the teeth, like a snarling dog.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

     The pangs of death do make him grin.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.

4. (transitive) To grin as part of producing a particular facial expression, such as a smile or sneer.

   He grinned a broad smile when I told him the result.

   He grinned a cruel sneer when I begged him to stop.

Derived terms

• fish-eating grin
• grin and bear it
• grin from ear to ear
• grin like a Cheshire cat
• grin like a mule eating briars
• pickin' and grinnin'
• picking and grinning
• shit-eating grin
• skin and grin

 

Translations

To smile showing the teeth

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 露齒而笑／露齿而笑 (zh) (lùchǐ'érxiào)

• Danish: grine (da)
• Dutch: grijnzen (nl)
• Esperanto: rideti
• Finnish: virnistää (fi), virnistellä (fi), virnuilla
• French: sourire (fr)
• Georgian: კრეჭს (ḳreč̣s)
• German: grinsen (de)
• Hungarian: vigyorog (hu)
• Ingrian: irvistää
• Italian: sorridere (it)
• Malay: tersengih
• Maori: pakiri, mimingo kata
• Marathi: विचकणे (vicakṇe), बत्तिशी दाखवणे (battiśī dākhavṇe)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: glise (no)

• Polish: szczerzyć zęby, suszyć ząbki, szczerzyć się (pl)
• Portuguese: sorrir abertamente, arreganhar (pt)
• Russian: ухмыля́ться (ru) impf (uxmyljátʹsja), ухмыльну́ться (ru) pf (uxmylʹnútʹsja), усмеха́ться (ru) impf (usmexátʹsja), усмехну́ться (ru) pf (usmexnútʹsja)
• Spanish: sonreír (es)
• Swedish: flina (sv)
• Turkish: sırıtmak (tr)

See also

• grimace
• smile

Etymology 2

From Old English grin.

Noun

grin (plural grins)

1. (obsolete) A snare; a gin.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Anagrams

• NGRI, Ring, girn, ring

Bislama

Etymology

From English green.

Adjective

grin

1. green

Danish

Etymology

See grine (“to laugh”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡriːn/, [ɡ̊ʁiːˀn]

Noun

grin n (singular definite grinet, plural indefinite grin)

1. laugh
2. grin
3. fun

Declension

Declension of grin

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	grin	grinet	grin	grinene
genitive	grins	grinets	grins	grinenes

Verb

grin

1. imperative of grine

References

• “grin” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From the verb grine.

Noun

grin n (definite singular grinet, indefinite plural grin, definite plural grina or grinene)

1. a grimace
2. a sneer

References

• “grin” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “grin_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From the verb grine, grina.

Noun

grin n (definite singular grinet, indefinite plural grin, definite plural grina)

1. a grimace
2. a sneer

Etymology 2

Verb

grin

1. inflection of grina:
   1. present
   2. imperative

References

• “grin” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrin/

Noun

grin m

1. snare
2. noose

Declension

Declension of grin (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	grin	grinas
accusative	grin	grinas
genitive	grines	grina
dative	grine	grinum

Descendants

• English: grin

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English green.

Adjective

grin

1. green

Vilamovian

Etymology

From Middle High German grüene, from Old High German gruoni.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

grīn

1. green