- grind
- O.E. grindan, forgrindan "destroy by crushing" (class III strong verb; past tense grand, pp. grunden), from P.Gmc. *grindanan (cf. Du. grenden), related to ground, from PIE *ghrendh- "crushing" (cf. L. frendere "to gnash the teeth," Gk. khondros "corn, grain," Lith. grendu "to scrape, scratch"). The noun sense "steady, hard work" first recorded 1851 in college student slang; the meaning "hard-working student" is Amer.Eng. slang from 1864. Grinder as a type of large sandwich is first recorded 1954. To keep one's nose to the grindstone was originally to get control of another and treat him harshly:
"This Text holdeth their noses so hard to the grindstone, that it clean disfigureth their Faces." [Frith, "Mirror to know Thyself," 1532]
The main modern (reflective) sense of "work hard" is from 1828.