sand
English

Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sænd/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ænd
Etymology 1
From Middle English sand, from Old English sand, from Proto-West Germanic *samd, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos, from *sem- (“to pour”).
See also West Frisian sân, Dutch zand, German Sand, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sand, Latin sabulum, Ancient Greek ἄμαθος (ámathos), English dialectal samel (“sand bottom”), Old Irish do·essim (“to pour out”), Latin sentina (“bilge water”), Lithuanian sémti (“to scoop”), Ancient Greek ἀμάω (amáō, “to gather”), ἄμη (ámē, “water bucket”).
Noun
sand (usually uncountable, plural sands)
- (uncountable) 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.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.
- 2018, The Guardian, "Riddle of the sands: the truth behind stolen beaches and dredged islands"
- We are addicted to sand but don't know it because we don't buy it as individuals, ―
- 2018, The Guardian, "Riddle of the sands: the truth behind stolen beaches and dredged islands"
- China's hunger for sand is insatiable, its biggest dredging site at Lake Poyang produces 989,000 tonnes per day.
-
- (countable, often in the plural) A beach or other expanse of sand.
- The Canadian tar sands are a promising source of oil.
- 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 7, in The Lonely Pyramid:
- It was the Lost Oasis, the Oasis of the vision in the sand. […] Deep-hidden in the hollow, beneath the cliffs, it lay; and round it the happy verdure spread for many a rood. […] Yes, the quest was ended, the Lost Oasis was the Found!
- (uncountable, dated) Personal courage.
- 1884, Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
- You may say what you want to, but in my opinion she had more sand in her than any girl I ever see; in my opinion she was just full of sand.
- 1968, Charles Portis, True Grit:
- He said, “I admire your sand but I believe you will find I am not liable for such claims. Let me say too that your valuation of the horse is high by about two hundred dollars.”
- 1979, L'Amour, Louis, Bendigo Shafter, →ISBN, OL 24369989M:
- There was youngsters all around him, and he stood there lookin’ at me and never turned a hair. He had sand, that Morrell.
-
- (uncountable, geology) A particle from 62.5 microns to 2 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
- A light beige colour, like that of typical sand.
- sand:
- (countable, obsolete) A single grain of sand.
- 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene v]:
- One sand another.
Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad
-
- (countable, figurative) A moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life (referring to the sand in an hourglass).
- c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:
- The sands are numbered that make up my life.
-
Derived terms
- Blundellsands
- Bolton-le-Sands
- built on sand
- Burgh by Sands
- bury one's head in the sand
- enough sense to pound sand into a rathole
- Grange-over-Sands
- Great Sandy Desert
- Great Wall of Sand
- ironsand, iron sand
- kick sand in somebody's face
- oil sand
- pound sand
- quicksand
- running sand
- sandbag
- sandbank
- sandbar
- sand bath
- sandblast
- sand-blind
- sand boil
- sandbox
- sandbox tree
- sandboy
- sandbugger
- sandbur
- sand-cast
- sand casting
- sandcastle
- sand crack
- sand dab
- sand dollar
- sand dome
- sand drag
- sand dune
- sand eel
- sander
- sanderling
- sand flea
- sandfly
- sand fly
- sandfly fever
- sandglass
- sandgroper
- sandgrouse
- sandhill crane
- sand hill, sandhill
- sandhog
- sand hopper
- Sand Hutton
- sandiness
- sand iron
- sand lance
- sand leek
- sand lily
- sand lizard
- sandman
- sand martin
- sand painting
- sandpaper
- sand pear
- sandpiper
- sandpit
- Sand Ridge, Sandridge
- sand shark
- sand shoe
- sandshoe
- sandsoap
- sandspit
- sandstorm
- sand table
- sand trap
- sand verbena
- sand viper
- sandward
- sand wedge
- sand winning
- sandworm
- sandwort
- sandy
- sand yacht
- sandyacht
- tar sand
- Woburn Sands
Translations
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English sanden, from the noun (see above).
Verb
sand (third-person singular simple present sands, present participle sanding, simple past and past participle sanded)
- (transitive) To abrade the surface of (something) with sand or sandpaper in order to smooth or clean it.
- (transitive) To cover with sand.
- 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter IX, page 141,
- Sudden stopping, which could be effected easily by sanding the rails and reversing the driving-gear, was dangerous, because the train might telescope and overwhelm the engine.
- 1958, Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari, New York: Pantheon, Chapter 4, page 96,
- The golden domes of churches and the freshly sanded paths in the town gardens were a glaring yellow.
- 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter IX, page 141,
- (transitive, historical) To blot ink using sand.
- 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities:
- The officer wrote until he had finished, read over to himself what he had written, sanded it, and handed it to Defarge, with the words "In secret."
-
Translations
See also
- Appendix:Colors
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of sand(piper).
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch zand, from Middle Dutch sant, from Old Dutch *sant, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sant/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
- sandkorrel
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /san/, [sanˀ]
- Rhymes: -anˀ
- Rhymes: -and
Etymology 1
From Old Norse sannr, saðr, from Proto-Germanic *sanþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sónts (“being, existing”), the present participle of *h₁es- (“to be”).
Inflection
Inflection of sand | |||
---|---|---|---|
Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
Common singular | sand | — | —2 |
Neuter singular | sandt | — | —2 |
Plural | sande | — | —2 |
Definite attributive1 | sande | — | — |
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively. |
Related terms
Etymology 2
From Old Norse sandr, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos.
Declension
neuter gender |
Singular | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | sand | sandet |
genitive | sands | sandets |
Faroese
Icelandic
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English sand, from Proto-West Germanic *samd, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /saːnd/, /sand/, /sɔnd/
Noun
sand (uncountable)
Derived terms
References
- “sā̆nd, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-05.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse sandr (“sand, sandy ground, sandbanks”), from Proto-Germanic *samdaz (“sand”), from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos (“sand”).
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑnː/, /sɑnd/
Noun
sand m (definite singular sanden, indefinite plural sandar, definite plural sandane)
- (collective, uncountable) sand
- 1983, Kaldhol, Marit, Lattermilde laken, Oslo: Samlaget, page 87:
- når tårene renn vekk i sanda
- when the tears run away into the sand
- (countable) a sandy riverbank
- Synonym: sandøyr
Usage notes
- In some dialects, especially in central Eastern Norway, feminine gender is used instead. Also using the definite singular form sanda. Compare with above quotations.
Derived terms
References
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑnd/
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *sandō. See also the verb sendan.
Noun
sand f
Declension
Etymology 2
From Proto-West Germanic *samd, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos. Compare Old Frisian sand, Old Saxon sand, Old High German sant, Old Norse sandr.
Declension
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | sand | sand |
accusative | sand | sand |
genitive | sandes | sanda |
dative | sande | sandum |
Derived terms
Old Norse
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *samd, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz. Akin to Old Norse sandr.
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish sander, from Old Norse sandr, from Proto-Germanic *samdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos.
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Declension
Declension of sand | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Uncountable | ||||
Indefinite | Definite | |||
Nominative | sand | sanden | — | — |
Genitive | sands | sandens | — | — |
Related terms
- sanda
- sandbacke
- sandbakelse
- sandbank
- sandblandad
- sandblästra
- sandblästring
- sandbotten
- sandbunker
- sanddyn
- sandfilter
- sandflykt
- sandfält
- sandfärgad
- sandgrop
- sandgul
- sandgång
- sandhed
- sandhink
- sandhög
- sandig
- sandjord
- sandkaka
- sandkorn
- sandkrypare
- sandlilja
- sandloppa
- sandlåda
- sandlådenivå
- sandmask
- sandmo
- sandmylla
- sandning
- sandpapper
- sandpappra
- sandpappring
- sandplan
- sandrev
- sandrevel
- sandrör
- sandskädda
- sandslott
- sandslätt
- sandsten
- sandstorm
- sandstrand
- sandströare
- sandsäck
- sandtag
- sandtäckt
- sandtäkt
- sandvall
- Sandviken
- sandvita
- sandås
- sandödla
- sandöken
- ökensand