Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “quern” come from?

Quern comes from Middle English quern, from Old English cweorn, from Proto-Germanic kwernō, from Proto-Indo-European gʷerewn-, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root gʷréh₂us meaning to grind.

quern (English): A mill for grinding corn, especially a hand-mill...

Definitions

  1. A mill for grinding corn, especially a hand-mill...

Ancestry of “quern”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishquernA quern or quirn; a device for grinding grains; A...
2Old Englishcweornquern
3Proto-West Germanic*kwernu—
4Proto-Germanickwernōmillstone; handmill; quern
5Proto-Indo-Europeangʷréh₂wōquern, mill-stone
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʷréh₂usheavy
7Proto-Indo-European-usForms adjectives from Caland system roots

Words derived from “quern”

  • whinstone
  • quernstone
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -us →