bed stone

noun

1. the fixed lower member of a pair of millstones.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bed stone¹

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

“When I was a kid, a bed stone was something you heated up — in freezing-cold Scotland, the rural parts of it, they would heat up a stone as a bed warmer,” Mr. McIndoe recalled.

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Mr. Wesley said that a bed stone, which “is supposed to lull you to sleep,” was indeed the inspiration for a drink that’s smooth and soothing.

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In the upper stone was a species of funnel, through which the grain passed as through a hopper, making its way thence, as the stone revolved, into the space between the running and the bed stone.

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The one on the bottom was called the bed stone and the upper one the runner.

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The nether, called the 'bed stone,' is stationary; the upper millstone, or 'runner,' revolves, and the grain crushed between the two works out along the furrows to the edge.

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