quern

Meaning

Noun

A mill for grinding corn, especially a handmill made of two circular stones.

Verb

To grind; to use a quern.

Synonyms

mill

hand mill

grindstone

grater

pestle

hand-mill

grinder

Translations

Handmühle

رحى

Querne

χειρόμυλος

moulin

moulin à bras

macina

handmolen

mano de metate

جاروش

el değirmeni

رحا

Drehmühle

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kwɝn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: quern

Inherited from Old English: cweorn

Cognate with Tokharian B: kärweñe

Cognate with Lithuanian: girna

Cognate with Russian: жёрнов

In summary

From Middle English quern, cwerne, from Old English cweorn (“quern, hand-mill, mill”), from Proto-Germanic *kwernō (“millstone”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂wō (“heavy stone”), from *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate with Tocharian B kärweñe, Lithuanian girna, Russian жёрнов (žórnov, “millstone”).