- One who works in, operates, or owns a mill, especially a grain mill.
- A milling machine.
- Any of various moths whose wings and bodies have a powdery appearance.
Did you mean: miller, Jonathan Miller (CEO of AOL), Arthur Miller (Writer / Playwright), MLR, Miller Group, Henry Miller (Writer), Glenn Miller (Bandleader / Trombonist / Missing Person) More...
Dictionary:
mill·er (mĭl'ər) ![]() |
| 5min Related Video: miller |
For more information on miller, visit Britannica.com.
| WordNet: miller |
The noun has 3 meanings:
Meaning #1:
someone who works in a mill (especially a grain mill)
Meaning #2:
machine tool in which metal that is secured to a carriage is fed against rotating cutters that shape it
Synonym: milling machine
Meaning #3:
any of various moths that have powdery wings
Synonym: moth miller
| Wikipedia: Miller |
A miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour.
Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world ("Muller" or "Mueller" in German, "Molinari" in Italian etc.).
Milling existed in hunter gatherer communities, and later millers were important to the development of agriculture.
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3239/2314598065_d79211639b.jpg?v=0"/>
The materials ground by millers are often foodstuffs and particularly grain. The physical grinding of the food allows for the easier digestion of its nutrients and saves wear on the teeth.
Non-food substances needed in a fine, powdered form, such as building materials, may be processed by a miller.
The most basic tool for a miller was the quern-stone - simply a large, fixed stone as a base and another movable stone operated by hand, similar to a mortar and pestle. As technology and millstones (the bedstone and rynd) improved, more elaborate machines such as watermills and windmills were developed to do the grinding work. These mills harnessed available energy sources including animal, water, wind and electrical power. Mills are some of the oldest factories in human history, so factories making other items are sometimes known as mills, for example, cotton mills and steel mills. These factory workers are also called millers.
The rynd in pre-reformation Scotland was often carved on millers' gravestones as a symbol of their trade.
In a traditonal rural society, a miller is often wealthier than ordinary peasants, which can lead to jealousy and to millers being targeted in bread riots at times of famine. Conversely, millers might be in a stronger position vis-a-vis feudal land owners than are ordinary peasants.
The traditional carnival held annually in the city of Ivrea, Italy commemorates a spirited "Mugnaia" (miller's daughter) who supposedly refused to let a local duke exercise his right of the first night, and proceeded to chop the duke's head off and spark a revolution. Whatever the historical validity of the story, it is significant it was the daughter of a miller to whom folk tradition assigned this rebellious role.
Duration: Two Weeks
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| Translations: Miller |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - møller, fræser, fræsemaskine
Nederlands (Dutch)
molenaar, freesbank, mot, kever
Français (French)
n. - meunier, (Ind) fraiseur
Italiano (Italian)
mugnaio, operaio fresatore
Português (Portuguese)
n. - moleiro (m), fresadora (f)
Русский (Russian)
мельник, фрезеровщик, фрезерный станок
Español (Spanish)
n. - molinero
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - mjölnare, fräsmaskin, nattfly, ollonborre, sävslända, örnrocka
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
磨坊主, 碾磨工, 铣工, 制粉业者, 铣床
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 磨坊主, 碾磨工, 銑工, 制粉業者, 銑床
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) صاحب الطحانه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - בעל טחנת-קמח, טוחן
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Did you mean: miller, Jonathan Miller (CEO of AOL), Arthur Miller (Writer / Playwright), MLR, Miller Group, Henry Miller (Writer), Glenn Miller (Bandleader / Trombonist / Missing Person) More...
| McMiller (family name) | |
| Millar (family name) | |
| Minar (family name) |
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Miller". Read more | |
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