sand

Meanings

Noun

• Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.
• A beach or other expanse of sand.
• Personal courage.
• A particle from 62.5 microns to 2 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
• A light beige colour, like that of typical sand.
• A single grain of sand.
• A moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life (referring to the sand in an hourglass).
• A sandpiper.

Adjective

• Of a light beige colour, like that of typical sand.

Verb

• To abrade the surface of (something) with sand or sandpaper in order to smooth or clean it.
• To cover with sand.
• To blot ink using sand.

Origin

• From Middle English sand, from Old English sand, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz (compare West Frisian sân, Dutch zand, German Sand, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sand), from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos (compare Latin sabulum, Ancient Greek ἄμαθος), from *sem- (compare English dialectal samel, Old Irish do·essim, Latin sentina, Lithuanian sémti, Ancient Greek ἀμάω, ἄμη).
• From Middle English sanden, from the noun (see above).
• Abbreviation of sandpiper.