Quern
/kwɜːrn/noun
A hand mill for grinding grain into flour.
Did you know?Quern is an old Germanic word for a hand mill, and its deeper relatives spread through Indo-European languages in words for grinding, crushing, and millstones.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷerh₂-
“to grind, rub, or crush”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kwerną
“a hand mill; millstone”
Old English
OE
cweorn
“a quern, hand mill”
Old Norse
ON
kvern
“a hand mill; millstone”
Modern English
English
quern
“a hand mill for grinding grain”