From Latin 'craticulum' (small wickerwork grill), via Anglo-Norman—originally a woven-wire cooking surface.
A flat metal cooking surface or pan, used for cooking food with dry heat, especially pancakes and flatbreads.
From Anglo-Norman 'gridil,' from Old French 'gredil, greil,' from Latin 'craticulum,' diminutive of 'cratis' (wickerwork, hurdle). The original griddle was a woven-wire grill over a fire, and the name stuck when the surface became solid metal. Key roots: cratis (Latin: "wickerwork, woven frame").