See Also: Mill(medicine)
mill(1)(dictionary)
mill(2)(dictionary)
mill(3)(dictionary)
mill(4)(dictionary)
run-of-the-mill(dictionary)
mill(5)(dictionary)
mill(6)(dictionary)
mill-ken(dictionary)
mill-race(dictionary)

mill(1) (iou)



mill noun1.
[Old English mylen from West Germanic from late Latin molinum, -ina, from Latin mola grindstone, mill, rel. to molere grind (see MEAL noun1). For loss of final n cf. ELL noun1.]
a. A building designed and fitted with machinery for grinding corn into flour, orig. chiefly worked by wind- or water-power. OE.
flouring mill, grist-mill, etc. floating mill, horse-mill, water-mill, windmill, etc.
b. An apparatus for grinding corn. M16.
P. S. Buck With this ox tied to his mill he could grind the grain.
A machine working in the manner of a corn-mill, not necessarily used for grinding; a machine performing a specified operation on a material in the process of manufacture. Also, a building fitted with such machinery; a building etc. where a specified industrial or manufacturing process is carried out. LME.
cotton-mill, reversing mill, silk-mill, steel-mill, etc.
R. K. Narayan Years ago there were two weaving mills at the end of the street. I. McEwan Back again on Monday to toil in the mills, factories, timber yards and quaysides of London.
b. spec. An apparatus or a machine for grinding or reducing a solid substance to powder, shreds, pulp, etc. Also, a building fitted with machinery for this purpose. M16.
coffee-mill, pepper-mill, powder-mill, salt-mill, etc.
H. Belloc Black pepper..ground large..in fresh granules from a proper wooden mill.
c. A machine which performs its work by rotary motion, esp. a lapidary's machine for cutting, polishing, or engraving gems. E17.
d. A machine for stamping gold and silver coins. M17.
e. An apparatus for juicing or expressing the liquid from fruit, vegetables, plants, etc., by grinding or crushing. L17.
A fist-fight; boxing-match. slang. E19.
a. A treadmill. M19.
b. A prison, a guard-house. slang. M19.
A circling movement of cattle. US. L19.
E. Hough He did all he could to break the 'mill' and get the cattle headed properly.
Mining. An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, supplying filler. L19.
A typewriter. US slang. E20.
The engine of an aircraft or motor vehicle. slang. E20.
Custom Car The basic set-up is a 302 Mustang mill with early Jag suspension.
Phrases: GASTRIC mill. GLACIER mill. go through the mill experience difficulty, hardship, suffering, etc. grist for the mill, grist to the mill: see GRIST noun1 2. pass through the mill = go through the mill above. put through the mill cause to experience difficulty, hardship, suffering, etc. run of the mill: see RUN noun. trouble at t' mill etc.: see TROUBLE noun.
Comb.: mill band a continuous belt for the wheels of mill machinery; mill bill a steel adze fixed in a wooden handle, used for dressing and cracking millstones; mill-clack a clapper in a mill; a heraldic representation of this; mill-dam (a) a dam built across a stream to interrupt the flow and raise the level of the water so as to make it available for turning a wheel; (b) the area covered by water held in check by such a dam; mill-dog Canad. a kind of clamp for securing logs in a sawmill; mill-dust fine floury dust thrown out during the grinding of corn; mill finish the finish of paper not subjected to any extra processing after manufacture; mill-hand a worker in a mill or factory; mill-head a reservoir of pent-up water which, when released, turns a water-mill; mill-hopper a hopper for corn ready for grinding; mill-horse: used for turning or working a mill; mill-house a building in which milling is carried on; mill-ink = mill-rind below; mill-lands Hist.: attached or appertaining to a corn-mill, esp. in Scotland; millman a man in charge of or employed in a mill; mill-pick an iron tool for producing a corrugated surface on a millstone; a heraldic representation of this; mill-post (a) Hist. a post supporting a windmill; (b) in pl. (joc.), thick or fat legs; mill-power (a unit for measuring) water-power for driving a mill; mill privilege, mill right US the privilege or right of using water for driving a mill; mill-rind the iron supporting the upper millstone of a corn-mill and carrying the eye which rests on the end of the mill spindle; a heraldic representation of this; mill-ring (a) the space in a mill between the runner and the frame surrounding it; (b) the meal scattered around a millstone, regarded as a perquisite of the miller; mill-run (a) a (standard) period of operation of a mill; (b) timber sawn to standard specifications; mill-sail a sail on a windmill; mill-scale Metallurgy iron oxide deposited on iron or steel during hot working; mill seat a site suitable for a water-mill; mill-shaft (a) a metal shaft used for driving machinery in a mill; (b) a tall chimney on a manufacturing mill; mill site US = mill seat above; mill-stream a mill-race; mill tail the water downstream from a mill which has passed through the mill-wheel; mill-tooth a grinding or molar tooth; mill town: characterized by the presence of a manufacturing mill or mills; mill-weir = mill-dam above; mill-wheel a wheel, esp. a water-wheel, used to drive a mill; a heraldic representation of this; mill-work (the designing or construction of) machinery used in a mill or factory.