millstonen.
/ˈmɪlstəʊn/, U.S. /ˈmɪlˌstoʊn/ I. Literal uses.
1.
a. Either of a pair of circular stones which grind corn by the rotation of the upper stone on the lower (or nether) one.nether millstone: see nether adj. and n. Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > [noun] > corn-mill > millstone
millstoneeOE
quernstoneOE
grindle stone?c1225
grindstonea1250
dog stonea1399
grinding-stonec1440
runner1533
sheeling-stone1563
metate1625
burr millstone1771
mealing stone1866
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 43 Lima, mylenstan, feol.
a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 241 (MED) Þis corn [sc. Christ]..wex..in iudea, hit ripede in ierusalem. Iudas..deden hit an þar rode alswa alse betwenen melstanent.
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 580 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 316 A Mulleston he scholde al-to-driue.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxi. 295 (MED) Sette mahon at the mangonel and mulle-stones þroweþ.
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 4063 (MED) A pece of a mylnestone threwe doune there a womman.
1560 Bible (Geneva) Rev. xviii. 21 Then a mightie Angel toke vp a stone like a great milstone, & cast it into the sea.
1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem i. f. 151 They malitiouslie occupyes ane greater space betwix the happer and the mylnstane, for their awin profite.
1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxvi. 124 Shee Mil-stones from the Quarrs, with sharpned picks could get.
1751 J. Ferguson in H. Rose & L. Shaw Geneal. Deduction Family Rose of Kilravock (1848) 443 The water-wheel moves a train for turning two mill-stones.
1802 Trans. Soc. Arts 20 275 Each millstone is..eleven inches thick in the hem, and thirteen at the eye.
1877 W. C. Bryant Song of Sower ii Steadily the millstone turns Down in the willowy vale.
1900 C. C. Munn Uncle Terry 364 The mill-stone [would] rumble, the big wheel splash.
1989 Scots Mag. Mar. 631 The windmill comprised a..shed containing fixed machinery and millstones.
b. Stone suitable for the making of millstones.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > stone for millstones or grindstones > for millstones
millstone1610
wolf-stone1640
millstone rag1709
1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. iii. 5 In the first [Quarries] discover, what Ragge, Freestone, Mil-stone, Grind stone, [etc.].
1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 153 Millstone is digged in this shire.
1787 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia vi, in Writings (1984) 156 There is great abundance..of stone,..fit for the chissel, good mill-stone.
1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Aberdour (Fifeshire) Two millstone quarries of excellent quality are wrought to good account.
1849 E. Chamberlain Indiana Gazetteer (ed. 3) 274 A mill-stone quarry, near Scipio, has also at times been worked extensively.
1991 A. Wainwright Wainwright in Limestone Dales 14 Below the summit on the west side is Sand Tarn, well known to the millstone workers of old.
c. Heraldry. A conventional representation of a millstone (usually depicted with the mill-rind attached).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of implements > [noun] > millstone
millstone1688
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 341/1 He beareth Sable, a Mil-Ston Argent.
1874 J. W. Papworth & A. W. Morant Alphabet. Dict. Coats of Arms 1100/1 Az. three millstones ppr. Melveton.
1988 T. Woodcock & J. M. Robinson Oxf. Guide Heraldry 204 (Gloss.) Millrind, the iron retaining piece fixed at the centre of a millstone.
II. Extended uses.† 3. [Alteration of Spanish millónes name of a tax (1590 in this sense), plural of millón million n., after millstone (probably with allusion to the perceived oppressiveness of the tax: compare sense 2); so named because originally intended to raise the specific sum of eight million ducats, and levied on subsequent occasions to raise further millions of ducats.] A Spanish tax, originally imposed in 1590, reimposed on several occasions in the early 17th cent. as a levy on certain goods, and finally abolished in 1845. Obsolete.† 4. Campanology. The brickwork round the central stake in bell-founding. Obsolete.
2. figurative.† c. In similative and allusive use (originally after Job 41:24), denoting hard-heartedness. Cf. stone n. 4b. Obsolete.
a. A heavy and inescapable burden or responsibility; esp. in a millstone round one's neck.Originally in biblical allusion (Matthew 18:6).
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the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness > a burden
burdenc971
chargec1300
packa1325
burnc1375
fardelc1380
weightc1380
carriagea1556
load1600
taxa1628
overpoise1697
dead weight1720
backload1725
millstone1787
tin kettle1796
nightmare-weight1847
ball and chain1855
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xviii. 6 It spediþ to hym þat a mylnestoon of assis be hangid in his necke.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Lett. (1966) III. 305 If you are willing to ford this musical Pactolus He (Mr. G.) will undertake to hang a Mill-Stone round your Neck.
1787 J. Bentham Def. Usury x. 109 The mill-stone intended for the necks of those vermin..the dealers in corn, was found to fall upon the heads of the consumers.
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 451 Her children were a sad tie (a very mill-stone) on her unassisted efforts.
1877 ‘Rita’ Vivienne iv. iv It is the millstone they hang round our necks.
1922 Weekly Free Press & Aberdeen Herald 7 Jan. 3 We ha'e a mull-steen roon wir nain necks, as Scriptur' ca's 't.
1958 B. L. Montgomery Mem. (1961) 483 The Navy had little use for National Service, the First Sea Lord saying it would merely be a ‘millstone round the neck of the armed forces’.
1995 Times 29 Apr. (Mag.) 24/1 The appalling acting and production values began as millstones, but turned into the show's biggest advantages as millions tuned in to cringe at the unlikely misfortunes that befell this small suburban patch of King's Oak.
b. A grinding or crushing instrument; an oppressive or destructive force.
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society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [noun] > instrument or symbol of
yokeeOE
rod of iron1526
iron fist1600
heel1601
millstonea1660
a1660 J. Naylor Coll. Sundry Bks. (1716) p. xlix I was between the Mill-stones, and as one crushed with the Weight of his Adversary.
1794 A. Geddes Let. to Right Rev. J. Douglass 39 Crush me not under the heavy millstone of authority.
1815 E. Quillinan Monthermer v. 132 Then some, with dread of durance to o'erawe, Or grind him with the millstone of the law, Deputed the Attorney!
1986 B. Geldof Is that It? xiii. 235 I was rapidly learning more about the problems of Ethiopia and its hapless peoples, caught between the millstones of natural disaster and international politics.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > callousness or hard-heartedness > type or emblem
stonea1400
iron1483
millstone1802
granite1839
1560 Bible (Geneva) Job xli. 24 His heart is as strong as a stone, and as hard as the nether milstone.
1764 J. Otis Rights Brit. Colonies iii. 43 Christian hair..'tis called by those whose hearts are as hard as the nether millstone.]
1802 J. Baillie Second Marriage ii. v, in Plays II. 407 She loves none of the rest; she is as hard as a millstone to the other two.
1855 E. E. Stuart Let. 12 Apr. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) II. 695 You ask M—how I like your will—I should be as hard as the nether Millstone, did I not like it.
1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna xxv. 171 Mrs Bluestone, whose heart was all softness towards Lady Anna, but as hard as a millstone towards the tailor.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. II. xiv. 99 John's heart was of millstone, Henry's of wax.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > specific tax in Spain
millstone1603
1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 243 There doeth not want also other meanes to raise money, as the impositions of the milstone: which as it is supposed,..will amounte to two millions of gold yearely.
1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell xvii. 211 The Tally and taillage of France, the Milstone of Spaine,..the Gabels of Italy.
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1756 Dict. Arts & Sci. at Foundery of Bells The stake is surrounded with a solid brick-work perfectly round, 5 or 6 inches high, and of a diameter equal to that of the bell. This they call a mill-stone.
Phrases
P1. to see far in (also into, through) a millstone, †to look into (also through) a millstone, †to dive into a millstone: (usually ironic) to be extraordinarily acute.
ΚΠ
1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus Prol. sig. Biij We wolde..seme to see farther in a myllstone than excellent auctours have done before us.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. x. sig. Civ She thought Ales, she had sene far in a mylstone, Whan she gat a husband.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 34 Your eyes are so sharpe, that you cannot onely looke through a Milstone, but cleane through the minde.
1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. vii. 92 They..could see as farre into a milstone as any of our..Physitians.
a1698 F. Sheppard Cal. Reform'd in Duke of Buckingham et al. Misc. Wks. (1704) 234 I can dive as far into a Millstone as any of my Neighbour Princes.
a1704 T. Brown Lett. to Gentlemen & Ladies in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) ii. 92 Thou..can'st see as far into a Mill-stone, as the oldest Match-maker in Town.
1770 S. Neville Diary 16 Oct. (1950) iv. 82 He says I can see further into a millstone than most people; an odd expression.
1836 T. C. Haliburton Clockmaker (1837) 1st Ser. xv. 139 I guess I can see as far into a mill-stone as the best on 'em.
1858 P. J. Bailey Age 20 An air acquired, to speak of it amusively, By looking into millstones too exclusively.
1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold ii That's all the length your learning helps you to see through a mill-stane.
1971 D. Shannon Ringer (1972) 38 You look as if you can see further through a millstone than most, as they say.
ΚΠ
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn Prol. 35 Teris..As grete as eny mylstone.]
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 351 Your eies drop milstones when fooles [printed fooIes] eies drop tears. View more context for this quotation
?1606 Tragedie of Cæsar & Pompey ii. iv. sig. C 3 Mens eyes must mil-stones drop, when fooles shed teares.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. ii. 140 Queene Hecuba laught that her eyes ran ore. Cres. With milstones. View more context for this quotation
a1640 P. Massinger City-Madam (1658) iv. iii. 58 Fortune. He, good gentleman, Will weep when he hears how we are us'd. 1 Serjeant. Yes milstones.
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1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue IV. xvi. sig. R7 Knapping, is when you strike one Die dead, either at Tables or Hazzard let the other run a Milstone, as we use to say.
1680 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 11 Placing the one [die] a top the other, not caring if the uppermost run a Mill-stone (as they use to say) if the undermost run without turning.
1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers 27 He was not ignorant in knapping, which is, striking one die dead and let the other run a milstone as the Gamester's Phrase is, either at Tables or Hazard.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.† millstone rope n. Obsolete rare
millstone maker n.
ΚΠ
1792 N.-Y. Directory 98 Neal, Peter, millstone-maker, 33, George-street.
1851 C. Cist Sketches & Statistics Cincinnati 182 Burr Millstone makers. Four factories.—Nineteen hands.
1874 Dunglison's Med. Lexicon (rev. ed.) Millstone-makers' Phthisis, a form of severe bronchitis dependent on the inhalation of the fine particles which separate in the manufacture of millstones.
1915 Publ. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 14 558 French mill-stone makers rarely live beyond 45.
1985 J. Allman Clio's Children 61 Once, you dreamt of Pang, millstone maker, grinding your head.
millstone quarry n.
ΚΠ
1846 Q. Rev. 78 459 For the restoration of the choir end, the millstone-quarries of Niedermendig and Mayen were put into requisition.
1977 Ann. Rev. Anthropol. 6 9 Fourteen years later I excavated the High Cave of Tangier, now a tourist trap, then a millstone quarry.
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1612 in P. C. D. Brears Yorks. Probate Inventories 1542–1689 (1972) 72 Item a mylneston roope & sheep barrs 0. 5. 0.
C2. † millstone alarm n. Obsolete rare a device which alerts a miller when the supply of grain to a millstone runs or is running out.† millstone rag n. Obsolete a coarse stone suitable for making millstones.† millstone silver n. Obsolete a fee payable for the grinding of corn.
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a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 607/2 Millstone alarm, a device to give notice when the supply of grain to the stone runs out or runs short.
millstone balance n. a weight placed to balance a millstone to ensure even grinding.
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1859 Sci. Amer. 13 Aug. 101/2 This millstone balance..allows a stone to be balanced both as regards its gravity or weight, and the centrifugal force generated by its rotation.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1443/1 Millstone-balance, a weight so placed as to balance other inequalities of weight in a stone, so that it may run true.
millstone bridge n. a bar across the eye of a millstone.
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1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1443/1 Millstone-bridge, the bar across the eye of a millstone by which it is supported on the head of the spindle.
millston crane n. an apparatus for lifting the runner from the lower millstone in a mill.
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a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 667/2 Millstone crane, a devise for lifting the runner off the bed-stone.
millstone dress n. = dress n. 12.
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1852 Sci. Amer. 21 Aug. 390/2 I do not claim a circular mill stone dress, in which the furrows are arcs of circles swept from a single centre.
1855 Sci. Amer. 13 Jan. 105/3 (caption) Mill-stone dress... A runner and bed stone, having an improved dress.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1443/1 The draft of a millstone dress is the degree of deflection of its furrows from a radial direction.
millstone dresser n. (a) a person who dresses or prepares millstones; (b) a machine for producing a corrugated surface on a millstone; (c) = mill bill n. at mill n.1 Compounds 2.
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1854 Sci. Amer. 9 Sept. 412/3 An improved hammer has recently been patented in France, to protect millstone dressers from the injurious effect of the silicous dust.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1443/2 Millstone-dresser, a machine for cutting grooves in the grinding-face of a millstone.
1890 Cent. Dict. (at cited word) Millstone-dresser, a workman whose business is to dress millstones.
1974 P. W. Blandford Country Craft Tools ii. 43 The ‘millstone dresser’ or ‘mill bill’, was a tool used in an axe-like manner, to cut or reshape the grooves..in the face of the millstone.
millstone hammer n. a hammer-shaped tool for producing a corrugated surface on a millstone (cf. mill bill n. at mill n.1 Compounds 2).
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1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1444/2 Millstone-hammer, a tool for furrowing millstones.
millstone pick n. = mill-pick n. 1.
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1853 Sci. Amer. 9 Apr. 236/2 Mill Stone Pick... An improved description of Pick, in which the blade is removable from the handle, has been invented.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1444/2 Millstone-pick, a tool for dressing millstones.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > stone for millstones or grindstones > for millstones
millstone1610
wolf-stone1640
millstone rag1709
1709 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 16 Apr. (1886) II. 187 Coarse millstone rag.
millstone regulator n. a device which regulates the flow of grain in a mill to the rate of motion of its runner.
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1868 Sci. Amer. 23 Dec. 411 Patent Claims... Millstone regulator.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1445/1 Millstone-regulator, one for graduating the feed of the grain to the rate of motion of the runner.
ΚΠ
1657 in C. B. Gunn Rec. Baron Court Stitchill (1905) 10 Aught merkes for grass maill with twelve sh. and 8d. for myllestane silver.
1660 in C. B. Gunn Rec. Baron Court Stitchill (1905) 21 Dew for payment of grass maill and mylle-stain silver at this term of Mertinmes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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