1.
[syn: albatross, millstone]
2. any load that is difficult to carry;
3. one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are rotated against one another to grind the grain;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Millstone \Mill"stone`\, n.
One of two circular stones used for grinding grain or other
substance in a mill[1].
[1913 Webster]
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to
pledge. --Deut. xxiv.
6.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The cellular siliceous rock called buhrstone is usually
employed for millstones; also, some kinds of lava, as
that Niedermendig, or other firm rock with rough
texture. The surface of a millstone has usually a
series of radial grooves in which the powdered material
collects.
[1913 Webster]
Millstone girt (Geol.), a hard and coarse, gritty
sandstone, dividing the Carboniferous from the
Subcarboniferous strata. See Farewell rock, under
Farewell, a., and Chart of Geology.
To see into a millstone or To see through a millstone, to
see into or through a difficult matter. (Colloq.)
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
millstone
n 1: (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; "she was
an albatross around his neck" [syn: albatross,
millstone]
2: any load that is difficult to carry
3: one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are
rotated against one another to grind the grain