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quarry

 - 11 dictionary results
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quar⋅ry

1  [kwawr-ee, kwor-ee] noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.
Use quarry in a Sentence
–noun
1. an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc.
2. an abundant source or supply.
–verb (used with object)
3. to obtain (stone) from or as if from a quarry.
4. to make a quarry in.
Origin:
1375–1425; ME quarey (n.) < ML quareia, var. of quareria < OF quarriere < VL *quadrāria place where stone is squared, deriv. of L quadrāre to square

Related forms:
quar⋅ri⋅a⋅ble, quar⋅ry⋅a⋅ble, adjective
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quar⋅ry

2  [kwawr-ee, kwor-ee]
–noun, plural -ries.
1. an animal or bird hunted or pursued.
2. game, esp. game hunted with hounds or hawks.
3. any object of search, pursuit, or attack.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME querre < OF cuiree, deriv. of cuir skin, hide < L corium

quar⋅ry

3  [kwawr-ee, kwor-ee]
–noun, plural -ries.
1. a square stone or tile.
2. quarrel 2 (def. 2).
Origin:
1545–55; n. use of obs. quarry (adj.) square < OF quarre < L quadrātus quadrate

quar⋅rel

2  [kwawr-uhl, kwor-]
–noun
1. a square-headed bolt or arrow, formerly used with a crossbow.
2. Also, quarry. a small, square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, as used in latticed windows.
3. any of various tools with pyramidal heads.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME quarel < OF < ML quadrellus, dim. of L quadrus square
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To quarry
quar·ry 1   (kwôr'ē, kwŏr'ē)   
n.   pl. quar·ries

    1. A hunted animal; prey.

    2. Hunted animals considered as a group; game.

  2. An object of pursuit: The police lost their quarry in the crowd.


[Middle English querre, entrails of a deer given to hounds as a reward, from Old French cuiriee, alteration (influenced by cuir, skin) of coree, from Vulgar Latin *corāta, viscera, from Latin cor, heart; see kerd- in Indo-European roots.]
quar·ry 2   (kwôr'ē, kwŏr'ē)   
n.   pl. quar·ries

  1. An open excavation or pit from which stone is obtained by digging, cutting, or blasting.

  2. A rich or productive source: found the book an indispensable quarry of information.

tr.v.   quar·ried, quar·ry·ing, quar·ries

  1. To obtain (stone) from a quarry, as by cutting, digging, or blasting.

  2. To extract (facts, for example) by long, careful searching: finally quarried out the genealogy from hundreds of sources.

  3. To use (land) as a quarry.


[Middle English quarey, from Medieval Latin quareria, quareia, alteration of Old French quarriere, from *quarre, cut stone, from Latin quadrum, square; see kwetwer- in Indo-European roots.]
quar'ri·er n.
quar·ry 3   (kwôr'ē, kwŏr'ē)   
n.   pl. quar·ries

  1. A square or diamond shape.

  2. A pane of glass having this shape.


[Variant of quarrel2.]
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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Word Origin & History

quarrel  (2)
"square-headed bolt for a crossbow," c.1225, from O.Fr. quarel, from V.L. *quadrellus, dim. of L.L. quadrus (adj.) "square," related to quattuor "four" (see quart). Archaic sense of "square or diamond-shaped plane of glass" first recorded 1447.

quarry  (1)
"what is hunted," c.1320, quirre "entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward," from Anglo-Fr. quirreie, from O.Fr. cuiriee, altered (by influence of O.Fr. cuir "skin," from L. corium "hide"), from O.Fr. corée "viscera, entrails," from V.L. *corata "entrails," from L. cor "heart." Sense of "anything chased in hunt" is first recorded 1615; earlier "bird targeted by a hawk or other raptor" (1486).

quarry  (2)
"where rocks are excavated," c.1400, from M.L. quarreria (1266), lit. "place where stones are squared," from L. quadrare "to square" (see quadrant). The verb is attested from 1774.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

quarry

place where dimension stone or aggregate (sand, gravel, crushed rock) is mined. The products of dimension stone quarries are prismatic blocks of rock such as marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and slate. After cutting and polishing, these materials are used in the primary construction of buildings and monuments and also for decorative facing materials applied to the exterior and interior of buildings. Dimension stones are extracted in a highly selective manner, using time-consuming and expensive methods for freeing the blocks from the surrounding rock

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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