pestle
noun
[ ˈpɛs(ə)l ]
• a heavy tool with a rounded end, used for crushing and grinding substances such as spices or drugs, typically in a mortar.
pestle
verb
• crush or grind with a pestle.
• "she measured seeds into the mortar and pestled them to powder"
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pist- ‘pounded’, from the verb pinsere .
