quern
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of quern
before 950; Middle English; Old English cweorn; akin to Old Norse kvern hand-mill
Vocabulary lists containing quern
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We have a quern stone for grinding flour for bread. We've got pottery and glass for eating and drinking" says Dr Andy Seaman.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
Finding a quern stone in an expected spot raises the hairs on the back of his neck—“as if I had been communicating directly with the people who buried it”.
From Economist ● Nov. 13, 2014
In some places to-day we still find the ancient quern or hand-mill, jocularly called an armstrong-machine.
From Our Southern Highlanders by Horace Kephart
They also imposed cruel and extortionate taxes upon the people, for every kneading trough, and every quern for grinding corn, and every flagstone for baking bread had to pay its tax.
From The High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances of Ancient Ireland by Stephen Reid
According to Richard Bennett, the quern, the first complete milling machine, originated in Italy and is in all probability not older than the 2nd century B.C.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
