pestle

Meaning

Noun

1. A club-shaped, round-headed stick used in a mortar to pound, crush, rub or grind things.
2. A constable's or bailiff's staff; so called from its shape.
3. The leg and leg bone of an animal, especially of a pig.

Verb

To pound, crush, rub or grind, as in a mortar with a pestle.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɛsəl/

Etymology

From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum.