gravel

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English gravel, grauel, from Old French gravele, diminutive of grave (“gravel, seashore”), from Medieval Latin grava, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *grāwā (“gravel, pebbles”) (compare Breton groa, Cornish grow, Welsh gro), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰroh₁weh₂, from *gʰreh₁w- (“to grind”). Compare also Old English græfa (“coal”).

1. Small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast.
2. A type or grade of small rocks, differentiated by mineral type, size range, or other characteristics.
3. A particle from 2 to 64 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
4. Kidney stones, or nephrolithiasis

   “The great use of coffee in France is supposed to have abated the prevalency of the gravel, for where coffee is used as a constant beverage, the gravel and the gout are scarcely known.”

5. A lameness in the foot of a horse, usually caused by an abscess.

   “The defendant below hired the horse to go from Cocksackie to Schodack, and the next day after his arrival at the latter place, the horse was found to be lame in one foot; and the lameness increasing, the defendant below was obliged to leave the horse there, and hire another with which to return. About four weeks after, the horse was brought home, and showed signs of gravel working out above the hoof.”

   “'Looks like pus in the foot to me.' 'I'll bet you're right,' Farnon said. 'They call it gravel around here, by the way. What do you suggest we do about it?'”

6. Inability to see at night; night blindness.

   “A malady that was rare, but which because of its peculiarity elicited much comment, was "night blindness" or "gravel."”

7. Gravel cycling, a discipline in cycling different from road cycling, mountain biking or cyclocross, for a large part on gravel roads, typically with a dedicated gravel bike.
8. The stimulant drug alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English gravel, grauel, from Old French gravele, diminutive of grave (“gravel, seashore”), from Medieval Latin grava, ultimately from Proto-Celtic *grāwā (“gravel, pebbles”) (compare Breton groa, Cornish grow, Welsh gro), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰroh₁weh₂, from *gʰreh₁w- (“to grind”). Compare also Old English græfa (“coal”).

1. To apply a layer of gravel to the surface of a road, etc.

   “We kept quietly on our way until we reached a place in the road that had been freshly graveled, and where the surface was covered with stones just suited to our use.”

2. To puzzle or annoy.

   “The physician was so gravelled and amazed withal, that he had not a word more to say.”

   “When you were gravelled for lack of matter.”

3. To run (as a ship) upon the gravel or beach; to run aground; to (cause to) be grounded in gravel or sand.

   “1605, William Camden, “Grave Speeches and wittie Apothegms of worthy Personages of this Realm in former times,” in Remaines Concerning Britain, London: Simon Miller, sixth impression, 1657, p. 243, William Conqerour when he invaded this Iland, chanced at his arrival to be gravelled, and one of his feet stuck so fast in the sand, that he fell to the ground.”

   “the keeled gravelled on the beach”

4. To hurt or lame (a horse) by gravel or similar material lodged between the shoe and foot.
5. To prostrate; to beat to the ground.