Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pestle"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pestle \Pes"tle\, n. [OE. pestel, OF. pestel, LL. pestellum, L.
pistillum, pistillus, a pounder, pestle, fr. pisere, pinsere,
to pound, crush, akin to Gr. ?, Skr. pish. Cf. {Pistil}.]
1. An implement for pounding and breaking or braying
substances in a mortar.
2. A constable's or bailiff's staff; -- so called from its
shape. [Obs.] --Chapman.
3. The leg and leg bone of an animal, especially of a pig;
as, a pestle of pork.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pestle \Pes"tle\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Pestled}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Pestling}.]
To pound, pulverize, bray, or mix with a pestle, or as with a
pestle; to use a pestle.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pestle
n 1: machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for
pounding or crushing ores [syn: {stamp}]
2: a heavy tool of stone or iron (usually with a flat base and
a handle) that is used to grind and mix material (as grain
or drugs or pigments) against a slab of stone [syn: {muller},
{pounder}]
3: a club-shaped hand tool for grinding and mixing substances
in a mortar
v : grind or pulverize in a pestle
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