cweornstan

Old English

Alternative forms

• cwyrnstān, cwurnstān

Etymology

From cweorn + stān, from cweornstān, from Proto-Germanic *kwernōstainaz. Cognate with Old High German quirnstein and Old Norse kvernsteinn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwe͜orn.stɑːn/, [ˈkwe͜orˠn.stɑːn]

Noun

cweornstān m

1. quernstone, millstone

   Lǣt niman ǣnne grēatne cwurnstān and hǣtan hine and lecgan hine under þone man

   Let one take a great quernstone and heat it and lie it underneath it

   Ðæt him wǣre getiged ān ormǣte cwyrnstān to his swuran, and he swā wurde on dēoppre sǣ besenced

   That to him were tied an immense quernstone on his neck, and so was he sunk in the deep sea

Declension

Declension of cweornstan (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	cweornstān	cweornstānas
accusative	cweornstān	cweornstānas
genitive	cweornstānes	cweornstāna
dative	cweornstāne	cweornstānum

Descendants

• Middle English querneston, wherneston
  • English quernstone