sand
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /sænd/
ipa: /sænd/
note: /æ/ raising
ipa: /sɛənd/
rhymes: -ænd
Forms: form: sands
Etymology: From Middle English sond, 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 North Frisian sun, Sön, sönj (“sand”), Saterland Frisian Sound (“sand”), West Frisian sân (“sand”), Dutch zand (“sand”), German, Luxembourgish Sand (“sand”), Yiddish זאַמד (zamd, “sand”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish sand (“sand”), Faroese and Icelandic sandur (“sand”), Latin sabulum (“sand, gravel”), Ancient Greek ἄμαθος (ámathos, “sand”), 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”).
Senses: examples: text: 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.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
text: “We are addicted to sand but don’t know it because we don’t buy it as individuals,” says Aurora Torres, […]
ref: 2018, Neil Tweedie, “Is the world running out of sand? The truth behind stolen beaches and dredged islands”, in The Guardian:
text: China’s hunger for sand is insatiable, its biggest dredging site at Lake Poyang produces 989,000 tonnes per day.
ref: 2018, Neil Tweedie, “Is the world running out of sand? The truth behind stolen beaches and dredged islands”, in The Guardian:
glosses: 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.
examples: text: One sand was that used in cement testing with white well rounded smooth grains, passing through a 20-mesh sieve and retained on a 30-mesh sieve. The other was ordinary brown building sand, passing 40-mesh and retained on 60-mesh.
ref: 1922, Harvey Whipple, Concrete, volumes 20-21, page 96:
glosses: 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 specific grade, type, or composition of sand.
examples: text: The Canadian tar sands are a promising source of oil.
text: From east and south the danger was to be expected. Not from the uninhabited northern desert, not from the desolate sands of the unknown west, would it come.
ref: 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 14, in The Lonely Pyramid:
glosses: 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 mass of sand.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 1884, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
text: 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.”
ref: 1968, Charles Portis, True Grit:
text: There was youngsters all around him, and he stood there lookin’ at me and never turned a hair. He had sand, that Morrell.
ref: 1979, Louis L'Amour, Bendigo Shafter, →ISBN, →OL:
synonyms: grit
glosses: Personal courage.
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
glosses: A particle from 62.5 microns to 2 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
glosses: A light beige colour, like that of typical sand.
examples: text: One sand another.
Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad
ref: 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, [Act V, scene v]:
glosses: A single grain of sand.
examples: text: The sands are numbered that make up my life.
ref: 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, [Act I, scene iv]:
text: Cf. sands of time (idiom)
text: […] And, departing, leave behind us / Footprints on the sands of time […]
ref: 1838 October, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life. […]”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, published 1839, →OCLC, stanza 7, page 7:
glosses: A moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life (referring to the sand in an hourglass).
examples: text: Sleep in your eyes, sleep crust, sand, eye gunk—whatever you call it, we all get it—that crusty stuff in the corners of your eyes when you wake up in the morning. "The medical term is 'rheum,' though you rarely hear it used," […]
ref: 2018 January 3, Moran Eye Center, “Is That Morning 'Eye Gunk' Normal?”, in HealthFeed Blog, University of Utah Hospital, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2020:
glosses: Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).
examples: Cf. Sandman, a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
glosses: Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).
"sand in [someone's] eyes" (idiom)
examples: Cf. “Sand in My Eyes”, in TV Tropes, 1 March 2023 (last accessed): “Alternative Title(s): Something In My Eye”
glosses: Dried mucus in the eye's inner corner, perhaps left from sleep (sleepy sand).
An excuse for tears.
Derived terms: word: African sand fox
word: ant sand
word: belt-sand
word: bituminous sand
word: black sand
word: Blundellsands
word: Bolton-le-Sands
word: brain sand
word: bring sand to the beach
word: build on sand
word: built on sand
word: Burgh by Sands
word: bury one's head in the sand
word: cover sand
word: desand
word: desert sand
word: draw a line in the sand
word: draw lines in the sand
word: dunesand
word: enough sense to pound sand into a rathole
word: firesand
word: golden sand-eater
word: Grange-over-Sands
word: Great Sandy Desert
word: Great Wall of Sand
word: green sand
word: greensand
word: Halimeda sand
word: head in the sand
word: head-in-the-sand
word: ironsand
word: iron sand
word: kick sand in somebody's face
word: kinetic sand
word: line in the sand
word: Mojave sand-verbena
word: molding sand
word: naked sand rat
word: oil sand
word: oversand
word: parting sand
word: polymeric sand
word: pound sand
word: pound sand into a rathole
word: put one's head in the sand
word: quicksand
word: red-banded sand wasp
word: resand
word: rope of sand
word: running sand
word: sandable
word: sand and spinach
word: sand art
word: sand asp
word: sand badger
word: sandbag
word: sandball
word: sand band
word: sandbank
word: sandbar
word: sand bar
word: sand bass
word: sand bath
word: sandbathe
word: sand battery
word: Sandbeach
word: Sand Beach
word: sandbeach
word: sand bear
word: sandbed
word: sand bee
word: sandbell
word: sandbelt
word: sandbin
word: sandbird
word: sand blackberry
word: sandblast
word: sandblaster
word: sand-blind
word: sand bluestem
word: sand boa
word: sandboard
word: sandboarding
word: sand boil
word: sand-boondy
word: sandbox
word: sand box
word: sandbox tree
word: sandboy
word: sand break
word: sand bug
word: sandbugger
word: sand buggy
word: sandbur
word: sand canal
word: sand-cast
word: sand casting
word: sandcastle
word: sand cat
word: sand cherry
word: sand clock
word: sand cock
word: sand cookie
word: sandcorn
word: sand crab
word: sand crack
word: sand cress
word: sandcrete
word: sand cricket
word: sand crocus
word: sand culture
word: sand dab
word: sand dam
word: sand daphne
word: sand dart
word: sand darter
word: sand diver
word: sand dollar
word: sand dome
word: sand down
word: sand drag
word: sand dune
word: sand duning
word: sand eel
word: sand engine
word: sander
word: sanderling
word: sandfall
word: sand fence
word: sandfish
word: sand-flag
word: sandflat
word: sand flea
word: sandflea
word: sand flounder
word: sandfly fever
word: sandfly
word: sand fly
word: sand fox
word: sand gazelle
word: sandglass
taxonomic: Varanus gouldii
word: sand goanna
word: sand grape
word: sandgroper
word: sandgrounder
word: sandgrouse
word: sand-grouse
taxonomic: Pteroclididae spp.
word: sand grouse
word: sandgun
word: sandheap
word: sandhill crane
word: sandhiller
word: sand hill
word: sandhill
word: sandhog
word: sand hog
word: sand-hog
word: sand hopper
word: sandhopper
word: sand hornet
word: Sandhurst
word: Sand Hutton
word: sandification
word: sandiness
word: sand in one's vagina
word: sand iron
word: sandish
word: sand jack
word: sand-jet
word: sandlace
word: sand lance
word: Sandland
word: sand lark
taxonomic: Allium scorodoprasum
word: sand leek
word: sandless
word: sand lettuce
word: sandlighter
word: sandlike
word: sand lily
word: sandling
word: sand lizard
word: sandlot
word: sandman
word: sand martin
word: sand-martin
word: sand mason
word: sand mason worm
word: sand mole
taxonomic: Varanus gouldii
word: sand monitor
word: sand monkey
word: sand motor
word: sand mouse
word: sand myrtle
word: sand-natter
word: sandnigga
word: sand nigger
word: sand-nigger
word: sand off
word: sand olive
word: sandpainting
word: sand painting
word: sand palm
word: sandpaper
word: sand partridge
word: sand pear
word: sand-peep
word: sand perch
word: sandpile
word: sand pillar
taxonomic: Pinus clausa
word: sand pine
word: sandpipe
word: sand-pipe
word: sandpiper
word: sandpit
word: sandplain
word: sand plover
word: sand plum
word: sandprawn
word: sand-pride
word: sandproof
word: sand pump
taxonomic: Heterocephalus glaber
word: sand puppy
word: sand python
word: sand rail
word: sand rat
word: sand reed
word: sand reel
word: sandridge
word: Sand Ridge
word: Sandridge
word: sand-roll
word: sand runner
word: sand saucer
word: sandscape
word: sand-screw
taxonomic: Carex arenaria
word: sand sedge
taxonomic: Odontaspididae spp.
word: sand shark
word: sand sheet
word: sand shoe
word: sandshoe
word: sand shot
word: sand shrimp
word: sand skink
word: sand-skipper
word: sandslide
word: sand sludger
word: sand slug
word: sand snake
word: sandsoap
word: sandspit
word: sand spit
word: sand-spit
word: sandspout
word: sand-spout
word: sandspur
word: sand star
word: sandstone
word: sand storm
word: sandstorm
word: sandsucker
word: sand table
word: sandthorn
word: sand thrower
word: sand tiger shark
word: sand timer
word: sand trap
word: sand tube worm
word: sand verbena
word: sand violet
word: sand viper
word: sand volleyball
word: sandward
word: sandwasher
word: sand wasp
word: sand wave
word: sand wedge
word: sand whiting
word: sand winner
word: sand winning
word: sandworm
word: sandwort
word: sandy
word: sand yachting
word: sand yacht
word: sandyacht
word: seasand
word: sharp sand
word: shell sand
word: silver sand
word: singing sand
word: sleepy sand
word: spotted sand lizard
word: starlily
word: star lily
word: stick one's head in the sand
word: tar sand
word: titanium sand
word: war sand
word: wet sand
word: wet-sand
word: White Sands
word: Woburn Sands
Related terms: sense: Other terms
word: arena
sense: Other terms
word: arenicolous
sense: Other terms
word: psammite
sense: Other terms
word: sabulous
sense: Other terms
word: shar-pei
sense: Other terms
word: tombolo