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
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
"It is the women singing and grinding at the quern," she said, and her feet went faster.
From The Basket Woman A Book of Indian Tales for Children by Mary Hunter Austin
Blanid, kneeling by the quern between the window and the door, and commencing to grind grain.
From King Lear's Wife; The Crier by Night; The Riding to Lithend; Midsummer-Eve; Laodice and Dana? by Gordon Bottomley
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
