quarry

quarry 1[kwawr-ee, kwor-ee] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for quarry on Thesaurus.com noun, plural quar·ries.

1. an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc.
2. an abundant source or supply.

verb (used with object), quar·ried, quar·ry·ing.

3. to obtain (stone) from or as if from a quarry.
4. to make a quarry in.

Origin of quarry 1 1375–1425; Middle English quarey (noun) Medieval Latin quareia, variant of quareria Old French quarriere Vulgar Latin *quadrāria place where stone is squared, derivative of Latin quadrāre to squareRelated formsquar·ri·a·ble, quar·ry·a·ble, adjectiveun·quar·ried, adjectiveCan be confusedquarry query Related Words for quarried unearth, shovel, extract, excavate, drill, search, dredge, discover, penetrate, exhume, bulldoze, scoop, sift, burrow, clean, enter, uncover, bore, gouge, harvest Examples from the Web for quarried Contemporary Examples of quarried

Carrara marble has been quarried as far back as Roman times and was used by emperors for massive monuments like the Rome Pantheon.

Mosque-Building Bin Ladens Buy Marble Once Used for Churches

Tom Kington

August 4, 2014

Historical Examples of quarried

The Derbyshire marbles are quarried all about, and mosaic manufacture is carried on.

England, Picturesque and Descriptive

Joel Cook

Here, too, the granite for building the country’s defences and docks is quarried.

Denmark

M. Pearson Thomson

The bulk of the quarried stone has the colour and greasy look of raw pork.

The Pagan Madonna

Harold MacGrath

Fire, chisel, and hammer at work on these three rocks; but, they are all quarried first.

Flamsted quarries

Mary E. Waller

The cell is formed of four quarried blocks, which are laid one over the other.

History of Phoenicia

George Rawlinson

British Dictionary definitions for quarried quarry 1 noun plural -ries

1. an open surface excavation for the extraction of building stone, slate, marble, etc, by drilling, blasting, or cutting
2. a copious source of something, esp information

verb -ries, -rying or -ried

3. to extract (stone, slate, etc) from or as if from a quarry
4. (tr) to excavate a quarry in
5. to obtain (something, esp information) diligently and laboriouslyhe was quarrying away in the reference library

Word Origin for quarry C15: from Old French quarriere, from quarre (unattested) square-shaped stone, from Latin quadrāre to make square quarry 2 noun plural -ries

1. an animal, bird, or fish that is hunted, esp by other animals; prey
2. anything pursued or hunted

Word Origin for quarry C14 quirre entrails offered to the hounds, from Old French cuirée what is placed on the hide, from cuir hide, from Latin corium leather; probably also influenced by Old French coree entrails, from Latin cor heart quarry 3 noun plural -ries

1. a square or diamond shape
2. something having this shape
3. another word for quarrel 2

Word Origin for quarry C16: from Old French quarré; see quarrel ² Word Origin and History for quarried quarry n.1

“what is hunted,” early 14c., quirre “entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward,” from Anglo-French quirreie, Old French cuiriee “the spoil, quarry” (Modern French curée), altered (by influence of Old French cuir “skin,” from Latin corium “hide”), from Old French corée “viscera, entrails,” from Vulgar Latin *corata “entrails,” from Latin cor “heart” (see heart). Sense of “anything chased in hunt” is first recorded 1610s; earlier “bird targeted by a hawk or other raptor” (late 15c.).

quarry n.2

“open place where rocks are excavated,” c.1400 (mid-13c. as a place name), from Medieval Latin quareia, dissimilated from quarreria (mid-13c.), literally “place where stones are squared,” from Latin quadrare “to square” (see quadrant).

quarry v.

1774, from quarry (n.2). Related: Quarried; quarrying.