graft
noun
[ ɡrɑːft ]
• a shoot or twig inserted into a slit on the trunk or stem of a living plant, from which it receives sap.
• a piece of living tissue that is transplanted surgically.
graft
verb
• insert (a shoot or twig) as a graft.
• "it was common to graft different varieties on to a single tree trunk"
• transplant (living tissue) as a graft.
• "they can graft a new hand on to the nerve ends"
• combine or integrate (an idea, system, etc.) with another, typically in a way considered inappropriate.
• "old values have been grafted on to a new economic class"
Origin:
late Middle English graff, from Old French grafe, via Latin from Greek graphion ‘stylus, writing implement’ (with reference to the tapered tip of the scion), from graphein ‘write’. The final -t is typical of phonetic confusion between -f and -ft at the end of words; compare with tuft.
graft
noun
• bribery and other corrupt practices used to secure illicit advantages or gains in politics or business.
• "sweeping measures to curb official graft"
Similar:
corruption,
bribery,
bribing,
dishonesty,
deceit,
fraud,
fraudulence,
subornation,
unlawful practices,
illegal means,
underhand means,
payola,
palm-greasing,
back-scratching,
hush money,
kickback,
crookedness,
shadiness,
shady business,
dirty tricks,
dirty dealings,
wheeling and dealing,
sharp practices,
graft
verb
• make money by shady or dishonest means.
Origin:
mid 19th century: of unknown origin.
graft
noun
• hard work.
• "success came after years of hard graft"
Similar:
work,
effort,
endeavour,
toil,
labour,
exertion,
the sweat of one's brow,
drudgery,
donkey work,
perseverance,
persistence,
slog,
yakka,
graft
verb
• work hard.
• "I need people prepared to go out and graft"
Similar:
work hard,
exert oneself,
toil,
labour,
hammer away,
grind away,
sweat,
plod away,
slave away,
work like a Trojan,
work like a dog,
persevere,
persist,
keep at it,
stick with it,
slog away,
plug away,
beaver away,
put one's back into something,
work one's socks off,
work one's guts out,
sweat blood,
kill oneself,
get one's head down,
drudge,
travail,
moil,
work one's balls/arse/nuts off,
work one's ass/butt off,
Origin:
mid 19th century: perhaps related to the phrase spade's graft ‘the amount of earth that one stroke of a spade will move’, based on Old Norse grǫftr ‘digging’.
