pestle

English

A mortar and pestle with black peppercorns.

Etymology

Via Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Cognate to pesto.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɛsəl/
• Rhymes: -ɛsəl

Noun

pestle (plural pestles)

1. A club-shaped, round-headed stick used in a mortar to pound, crush, rub or grind things.

Coordinate terms

• muddler

Translations

instrument used with a mortar to grind things

• Catalan: mà de morter (ca) f, maça (ca) f
• Classical Nahuatl: texōlōtl
• Finnish: petkel (fi)
• French: pilon (fr)
• German: Stößel (de) m
• Greek: γουδοχέρι (el) (goudochéri) n
• Japanese: 擂粉木 (ja) (すりこぎ, surikogi)
• Korean: 방앗공이 (ko) (bangAt-gongI), 절굿공이 (ko) (jeolgut-gongI), 막자 (ko) (makja) (small-sized)

• Macedonian: толчник (mk) (tólčnik) m
• Dutch: stamper (nl)
• Maori: paoi (mi), ngahiri (mi)
• Romanian: pistil (ro) n
• Russian: пест (ru) (pest) m, пестик (ru) (péstik) m
• Scottish Gaelic: plocan (gd) m
• Spanish: pilón (es) m, pistilo (es) m
• Swedish: mortelstöt (sv) c

Verb

pestle (third-person singular simple present pestles, present participle pestling, simple past and past participle pestled)

1. To pound, crush, rub or grind (things), as in a mortar with a pestle.

Related terms

• pesto
• pistil