To cook food on a metal framework over direct heat, or to question someone intensely and persistently.
From Old French 'greil' meaning 'gridiron' or 'grating,' derived from Latin 'craticula' (small grate), which came from 'crates' (wicker work or lattice). Originally referred only to the cooking equipment — the metal grate itself. The 'intense questioning' meaning developed in the 1800s from the idea that harsh questioning 'roasts' or 'cooks' the person being interrogated, just like food on a grill. Both meanings involve applying intense heat or pressure.
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