grill
UK[ɡrɪl]US[ɡrɪl]
v
To cook food on a metal frame over or under direct heat.
n
A metal frame used for cooking food over direct heat; also, a restaurant serving grilled food.
v
To subject someone to intense and prolonged questioning.
Etymology
The word 'grill' entered English from the Old French 'greil', meaning a gridiron for cooking. This French term evolved from the Vulgar Latin 'craticula', a small grill or gridiron, which itself is a diminutive of the Latin 'cratis', denoting a wickerwork frame or hurdle. The semantic journey is clear: from a woven framework, to a metal cooking frame, and finally to the method of cooking performed upon it. The figurative sense of "to question intensely" emerged in the early 20th century, evoking the image of subjecting someone to a punishing, heat-like interrogation.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form. It is a loanword from French, where it originally referred to a gridiron or grating. Its ultimate origin is traced back to the Vulgar Latin 'craticula', a diminutive of the Latin 'cratis', meaning "wickerwork, hurdle, or gridiron."
Examples
We plan to grill burgers and vegetables for dinner tonight.
The steak got perfect char marks from the hot grill.
The detective grilled the suspect for hours about his alibi.