" 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]

"No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge." [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.)

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

millstone, n.
1 each of two circular stones used for grinding corn.
2 a heavy burden or responsibility (cf. Matt. 18:6).

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THESAURUS

millstone

bale, burden, burdening, burthen, cargo, charge, charging, cheese grater, comminutor, crusher, cumber, cumbrance, deadweight, drag, duty, encumbrance, freight, granulator, grater, grinder, handicap, incubus, incumbency, kominuter, lading, levigator, load, loading, masher, mill, mortar and pestle, nutmeg grater, onus, oppression, overload, overtaxing, overweighting, pestle, pressure, pulverizer, quern, quernstone, rock crusher, roller, saddling, shredder, steamroller, superincumbency, surcharge, task, tax, taxing, triturator, weight

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ROGET THESAURUS

millstone

Gravity

N gravity, gravitation, weight, heaviness, specific gravity, pondorosity, pressure, load, burden, burthen, ballast, counterpoise, lump of, mass of, weight of, lead, millstone, mountain, Ossa on Pelion, weighing, ponderation, trutination, weights, avoirdupois weight, troy weight, apothecaries' weight, grain, scruple, drachma, ounce, pound, lb, arroba, load, stone, hundredweight, cwt, ton, long ton, metric ton, quintal, carat, pennyweight, tod, gram, centigram, milligram, microgram, kilogram, nanogram, picogram, femtogram, attogram, balance, scale, scales, steelyard, beam, weighbridge, spring balance, piezoelectric balance, analytical balance, two-pan balance, one-pan balance, postal scale, baby scale, statics, weighty, weighing, heavy as lead, ponderous, ponderable, lumpish, lumpy, cumbersome, burdensome, cumbrous, unwieldy, massive, incumbent, superincumbent.

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