Meaning

noun a frame of iron bars to hold a fire

noun a harsh rasping sound made by scraping something

noun a barrier that has parallel or crossed bars blocking a passage but admitting air

originFrom Middle English graten, from Old French grater (“to scrape”) ( > French gratter), from Frankish *krattōn, from Proto-Germanic *krattōną. Cognate with Old High German krazzon ( > German kratzen (“to scrawl”) > Danish kradse), Icelandic krassa (“to scrawl”) and Danish kratte.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0