pestle
English
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pestle
- /ˈpɛsəl/
Rhymes with -ɛsəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum.
noun pestles
- A club-shaped, round-headed stick used in a mortar to pound, crush, rub or grind things. She then sat down by the fire, and carefully separated the stone from the pulp, which she burnt; and her next task was to extract the kernel, which she did by means of a heavy pestle and the hearth. The kernels were next crushed together, and placed to simmer over the furnace.
- A constable's or bailiff's staff; so called from its shape. I long to meet a Sergeant in this humor, I vvould […] trie vvhether the chopping knife or their peſtles vvere the better vveapons.
- The leg and leg bone of an animal, especially of a pig. a pestle of pork
verb pestles · pestling · pestled
- To pound, crush, rub or grind, as in a mortar with a pestle. ‘Next time, boy, that you use that mortar for garlic, I will personally knock out your brain, place it in the said mortar, pestle it to a fine paste and give it to Dick Purser for feeding the dogs.’
Translations
Every language
noun instrument used with a mortar to grind things
| Español | mano, maneta, maja, macilla, palo, machacadera |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 방앗공이 bang'atgong'i, 절굿공이 jeolgutgong'i, 막자 makja |
| 日本語 | 杵 kine, 擂り粉木 surikogi |
| 中文 | 碓 duì |
| Kiswahili | mchi |
| Português | pilão |
| Français | pilon |
| Deutsch | Stößel, Mörserkeule, Stampfer |
| Italiano | pestello |
| Ελληνικά | γουδοχέρι goudochéri |
| Română | pistil |
| Русский | пест pest, пе́стик péstik, толка́ч tolkáč |
| Tiếng Việt | chày |
| العربية | مِدَقَّة midaqqa, يَد yad, دَسْتَج dastaj |
| עברית | מָדוֹךְ madokh, עֱלִי eli |
Talk about this word "pestle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pestle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pestle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pestle "pestle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pestle.Cite this
@misc{pestle_2026,
title = {pestle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pestle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
