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Definition of pestle - 8 dictionary results
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pes⋅tle

  [pes-uhl, pes-tl] noun, verb, -tled, -tling.
Use pestle in a Sentence
–noun
1. a tool for pounding or grinding substances in a mortar.
2. any of various appliances for pounding, stamping, etc.
–verb (used with object)
3. to pound or grind with or as if with a pestle.
–verb (used without object)
4. to work with a pestle.
Origin:
1300–50; ME pestel < MF < L pistillum, deriv. of pistus, ptp. of pīnsere to pound, crush
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Pestle
 Exclusive Stone & Marble Mortars & Pestles from Williams-Sonoma
 www.Williams-Sonoma.com
pes·tle   (pěs'əl, pěs'təl)   


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n.  
  1. A club-shaped, hand-held tool for grinding or mashing substances in a mortar.
  2. A large bar moved vertically to stamp or pound, as in a press or mill.
v.   pes·tled, pes·tling, pes·tles

v.   tr.
To pound, grind, or mash with or as if with a pestle.
v.   intr.
To use a pestle.

[Middle English pestel, from Old French, from Latin pistillum.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pestle
Spanish: mano (de mortero), maja,
German: der Stößel,
Japanese: 乳棒
More Translations »

pestle 
1272, from O.Fr. pestel, from L. pistillum "pounder, pestle," related to pinsere "to pound," from PIE *pis-to-, suffixed form of base *peis- "to crush" (cf. Skt. pinasti "pounds, crushes," pistah "anything ground, meal," Gk. ptissein "to winnow," O.C.S. piso, pichati "to push, thrust, strike," pisenica "wheat," Rus. pseno "millet").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pes·tle
Pronunciation: 'pes-&l also 'pes-t&l
Function: noun
: a usually club-shaped implement for pounding orgrinding substances in a mortar
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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pestle pes·tle (pěs'əl, pěs'təl)
n.
A club-shaped, hand-held tool for grinding or mashing substances in a mortar.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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pestle

ancient device for milling by pounding. Together with the saddle quern (a round stone rolled or rubbed on a flat stone bed), it was the first means known for grinding grain; the grain was placed in a shallow depression in a stone, the mortar, and pounded with a rodlike stone, the pestle. Refined versions of the mortar and pestle have continued to find use in kitchens for preparing pastes and other finely ground elements of cuisine, in pharmacy for preparing medicines, and in chemical laboratories.

Learn more about pestle with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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