Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - gravel

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~e, diminutive of grave, greve river bank, stony ground  Date: 13th century  1. obsolete sand  2.  a. loose rounded fragments of rock  b. a stratum or deposit of ~; also a surface covered with ~ a ~ road  3. small calculi in the kidneys and urinary bladder  II. transitive verb  (-eled or -elled; -eling or ~ling)  Date: 1543  1. to cover or spread with ~  2.  a. perplex, confound  b. irritate, nettle disappointed…and ~ed him a good deal — Mark Twain  III. adjective  Date: 1939 ~ly 2 — used of the human voice