Food Dictionary: Gratin

After making and writing about creamy potatoes gratin, I got to thinking about the word "gratin." I kept wondering if the word was overused, misused, or just plain misunderstood. I had no idea what it meant, even thought I'd heard it countless times in my life. Seems like you can't go to a home cooking restaurant like Black-eyed Pea or perhaps a cafeteria like Luby's without seeing Potatoes Au Gratin on the menu.

We hear it all the time in one form or another: potatoes gratin, potatoes au gratin, gratinated potatoes, potatoes gratinee. So what the heck does it all mean? And why do the French always get involved in these matters?

From epicurious.com:
gratin; gratinée - [GRAH-tn (Fr. , gra-TAN , ), grah-tee-NAY]
A gratin is any dish that is topped with cheese or bread crumbs mixed with bits of butter, then heated in the oven or under the broiler until brown and crispy. The terms au gratin or gratinée refer to any dish prepared in such a manner. Special round or oval gratin pans and dishes are ovenproof and shallow, which increases a dish's surface area, thereby insuring a larger crispy portion for each serving.

From the Wiki:
Gratin is a type of casserole from French cuisine that is covered with cheese or buttered breadcrumbs and baked or broiled. Often gratins use potatoes, but it's not a requirement. It is a common misconception that a gratin must contain cheese, but a traditional French gratin is more often made with a Béchamel sauce.

That may be a little bit more than I wanted to know, or that needed to be known by anyone. And while the Wiki definition says that it's a misconception to think of Gratin is a cheese thing, I think that for most things in the United States, Gratin is cheese. Let's just keep it to Men in Aprons simplicity.