millstone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   one of a pair of large circular stones used for grinding grain

   The stream powered the millstone that ground wheat into flour.

2. 2
   noun

   a heavy burden, responsibility, or disadvantage that is difficult to escape

   The unprofitable contract became a financial millstone for the company.

From Middle English milneston, continuing Old English mylenstan, a compound of mill and stone. The figurative sense of an oppressive burden draws on the stone's great weight and on biblical imagery of a millstone hung around a person's neck.

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