quern

[ kwurn ]

noun

1. a primitive, hand-operated mill for grinding grain.

quern

/ kwɜːn /

noun

1. a stone hand mill for grinding corn

Word History and Origins

Origin of quern¹

before 950; Middle English; Old English cweorn; akin to Old Norse kvern hand-mill

Word History and Origins

Origin of quern¹

Old English cweorn; related to Old Frisian quern, Old High German kurn, Old Norse kverna, Gothic quairnus millstone

Example Sentences

When enough had collected in the clay pot at the edge of the quern, the two sisters — the third Navarro sister, Crispina, was an amused bystander — squeezed out its impurities using a wet cloth.

From New York Times

Decorated querns and millstones of any date are extremely rare, with only four such Roman millstones discovered from around a total of 20,000 nationwide, said Steve Sherlock, Highways England's archaeology lead for the A14.

From BBC

Bone was also found with a piece of quartz from a stone tool and a quern stone, which was used for grinding food.

From BBC

A device called the rotary quern, a type of hand mill, became common in Central Europe in the late Iron Age.

From Washington Post

Other examples of complex technologies that diffused east and west in the ancient Old World, from a single West Asian source, include door locks, pulleys, rotary querns, windmills—and the alphabet.

From Literature