quern

quern
/kwerrn/, n.
a primitive, hand-operated mill for grinding grain.
[bef. 950; ME; OE cweorn; akin to ON kvern hand-mill]

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▪ tool
      ancient device for grinding grain. The saddle quern, consisting simply of a flat stone bed and a rounded stone to be operated manually against it, dates from Neolithic times (before 5600 BC). The true quern, a heavy device worked by slave or animal power, appeared by Roman times. Cato the Elder describes a 2nd-century-BC rotary quern consisting of a concave lower stone and a convex upper, turned by a pair of asses. Many such large querns were found in the ruins of Pompeii. The upper stone was set on a spindle that fitted into the lower. The ground grain passed down through holes in the lower stone.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Quern — Quern, n. [AS. cweorn, cwyrn; akin to D. kweern, OHG. quirn, Icel. kvern, Sw. qvarn, Dan. qu[ae]rn, Goth. qairnus (in asiluqa[ i]rnus), Lith. q[ i]rnos, and perh. E. corn.] A mill for grinding grain, the upper stone of which was turned by hand;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • quern — (n.) O.E. cweorn hand mill, mill, from PIE root *gwern (Cf. O.N. kvern, O.Fris. quern, O.H.G. quirn, Goth. quirnus; Skt. grava crushing stone; Lith. girna millstone, girnos hand mills; O.C.S. zrunuvi …   Etymology dictionary

  • qüern — Mot Monosíl·lab Nom masculí …   Diccionari Català-Català

  • quern — ► NOUN ▪ a simple hand mill for grinding grain, typically consisting of two circular stones. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • quern — [kwʉrn] n. [ME querne < OE cweorn, akin to ON kvern < IE base * gwer , heavy > L gravis, Gr barys] a primitive hand mill, esp. for grinding grain …   English World dictionary

  • Quern — Wappen Deutschlandkarte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Quern — Infobox Ort in Deutschland image photo = Wappen = Quern Wappen.png lat deg = 54 |lat min = 45 | lat sec=0 lon deg = 9 |lon min = 43 | lon sec=0 Lageplan = Quern in SL.png Bundesland = Schleswig Holstein Kreis = Schleswig Flensburg Amt = Geltinger …   Wikipedia

  • Quern — Original name in latin Quern Name in other language Quern State code DE Continent/City Europe/Berlin longitude 54.75 latitude 9.71667 altitude 47 Population 1344 Date 2011 04 25 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • quern — Everyday English Slang in Ireland (a) used only in wexford it means very i.e. I m quern tired …   English dialects glossary

  • quern — n. 1 a hand mill for grinding corn. 2 a small hand mill for pepper etc. Phrases and idioms: quern stone a millstone. Etymology: OE cweorn(e) f. Gmc …   Useful english dictionary

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