quarry

Meanings

Noun

• A site for mining stone, limestone, or slate.
• A part of the entrails of a hunted animal, given to the hounds as a reward.
• An animal, often a bird or mammal, which is hunted.
• An object of search or pursuit.
• A diamond-shaped tile or pane, often of glass or stone.

Verb

• To obtain (or mine) stone by extraction from a quarry.
• To extract or slowly obtain by long, tedious searching.
• To secure prey; to prey, as a vulture or harpy.

Related

Similar words

• delf
• mine
• dig, dig up, unearth
• mark
• prey
• target

Origin

• From Middle English quarere, from Medieval Latin quarreria (1266), literally a “place where stones are squared”, from Old French quarrière (compare modern French carrière), from Vulgar Latin, from Latin quadrō ("I square"), itself from quadra, from quattuor, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres ("four").
• From Middle English quyrrey, querre, curee, quirre, from Anglo-Norman quirreie, from Old French cuiriee ("entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward") (influenced by cuir, from Latin corium ("a hide")), from coree, from Vulgar Latin corata ("entrails"), from Latin cor ("heart").
• Alteration of quarrel.