Millwheel

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large rotating wheel driven by water or wind that powers the grinding and processing machinery inside a mill
2. The main wheel in a mill that converts the force of falling water or flowing wind into rotational motion for milling operations
3. A substantial wheel turned by natural forces to operate the mechanical equipment that grinds grain or processes materials in a mill

Etymology: The word is a plain compound, and its oldest form is in Old English: "mylenhwēol" joined "mylen", meaning mill, with "hwēol", meaning wheel. The Old English element "mylen" was itself borrowed from Latin "molīnum" and its Late Latin relative "molīnus", both tied to the verb "molere", to grind, so the first half of the word carries a Roman grinding machine inside it. The Old English word passed into Middle English as "milnewhel" before settling into the modern form. Because the two parts are plain English, the compound is transparent: a millwheel is literally the wheel of a mill, the water- or wind-driven wheel that turns the grinding stones. The word's history is therefore mainly the history of its first element, which reaches back to the Roman word for a grinding device.

Synonyms: water wheel, mill wheel