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Quarry
Definitions
- 1 A site for mining stone, such as limestone, or slate.
"Michelangelo personally quarried marble from the world-famous quarry at Carrara."
- 2 A part of the entrails of a hunted animal, given to the hounds as a reward. obsolete, uncountable
"Quarry, among hunters, is ſometimes uſed for part of the viſcera of the beaſt taken; given by way of reward to the hounds."
- 3 A diamond-shaped tile or pane, often of glass or stone.
"The boyes playing at ſtooleball, by chaunce broke a quarry of the glaſſe, whereupon he complayned to the Towneſhip, and either had, or did his utmoſt to haue the poor boy whipt, […]"
- 4 animal hunted or caught for food wordnet
- 5 An animal, often a bird or mammal, which is hunted. uncountable
"Is it not our very Caſe now, that when our Souls, Good-Names, Bodies and Fortunes are at Stake, we muſt be running out at Check, after every Crow, Buzzard, or Jack-daw that comes in the way, and leave the main Chance at laſt at Six and Seven? Nay, and here's this more in't too, that the Quarry would not be worth the taking up neither, if we could Catch it; beſide, that it flies away ſtill before us, and is never to be Overtaken."
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- 6 a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate wordnet
- 7 An object of search or pursuit. countable
"In a verſe, when a worde of three ſillables cannot thruſt in but ſidelings, to joynt him even, we are oftentimes faine to borrowe ſome leſſer quarry of elocution from the Latine, alwaies retaining this for a principle, that a leake of indeſinence , as a leake in a ſhip, muſt needly be ſtopt with what matter ſoever."
- 8 a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence wordnet
- 1 To obtain (or mine) stone by extraction from a quarry. transitive
"The incloſing of this country might alſo be effected, were the landlord to quarry the ſtones, and build the walls at his expence, and the tenant to carry the materials, and pay intereſt for the money advanced by the landlord."
- 2 To secure prey; to prey, as a vulture or harpy.
"What's an Eternal Circulation of the ſame Things, as well as the ſame Steps, without Advancing one Inch of Ground towards his Journey's End, but Ixion in the Wheel? And all this while, with Cares, and Horrors at his Heart, like the Vultur that's Day and Night Quarrying upon Prometheus's Liver."
- 3 extract (something such as stones) from or as if from a quarry wordnet
- 4 To extract or slowly obtain by long, tedious searching. figuratively, transitive
"They quarried out new, interesting facts about ancient Egypt from old papyri."
Etymology
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 *quadraria, from Latin quadrō (“I square”), itself from quadra (“a square”), from quattuor (“four”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres (“four”).
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 *quadraria, from Latin quadrō (“I square”), itself from quadra (“a square”), from quattuor (“four”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres (“four”).
From Middle English quyrre, querre, quirre, from Anglo-Norman quiree (“entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward”) (influenced by cuir (“skin (of an animal)”), from Latin corium (“a hide”)), from coree (“entrails, viscera”), from Vulgar Latin corata (“entrails”), from Latin cor (“heart”).
From Middle English quyrre, querre, quirre, from Anglo-Norman quiree (“entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward”) (influenced by cuir (“skin (of an animal)”), from Latin corium (“a hide”)), from coree (“entrails, viscera”), from Vulgar Latin corata (“entrails”), from Latin cor (“heart”).
Alteration of quarrel (“diamond-shaped piece of coloured glass forming part of a stained glass window; square tile”).
See also for "quarry"
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