▪ I. quarry, n.1
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
Forms: 4–5 quirre, quyrre, 5 kirre, kyrre, whirry, 6 quyrry; 4–5 querrye, querre (also 7), 7 querry; 5 quarre, 6 quarie, 6–7 quarrie, (6–7 -ey), 6– quarry.
[a. OF. cuirée, curée, f. cuir (:—L. corium) skin: see sense 1.]
† 1. a. Certain parts of a deer placed on the hide and given to the hounds as a reward; also, the reward given to a hawk which has killed a bird (see quot. c 1350). Obs.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 499 Hert, liuer and liȝtes, And blod tille his quirre, Houndes on hyde he diȝtes. c 1350 Parl. Three Ages 233 [The falconer] puttis owte..þe maryo [v.r. marow] one his gloue And quotes thaym [the hawks] to the querrye [v.r. whirry] that quelled hym to þe dethe. c 1400 Master of Game Prol. (MS. Digby 182), And after whann the hert is spaied and dede, he vndothe hym, and maketh his kirre and enquirreth or rewardeþ his houndes. c 1420 Venery de Twety in Rel. Ant. I. 153 The houndes shal be rewardid with the nekke and with the bewellis..and thei shal be etyn under the skyn, and therfore it is clepid the quarre. 1486 Bk. St. Albans F iv, That callid is Iwis The quyrre, a boue the skyn for it etyn is. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 34 How a man should enter his yong houndes to hunte the Harte, and of the quaries and rewardes that he shall giue them. [1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 188/1 Quarry..is a gift or reward given the Hounds, being some part of the thing hunted.] |
† b. to blow the quarry: To sound a horn to call the hounds to the quarry. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1500 Wyl Bucke's Test. (Copland) 70, I ma no lenger tarry, I must nedis hense go. I here them blowe the quarry. |
† 2. a. A collection or heap made of the deer killed at a hunting. Obs.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1324, & quykly of þe quelled dere a querré þay maked. c 1400 Master of Game xxxv. (MS. Digby 182), Alle þe while that þe huntynge lasteth shulde þe cartes go aboute fro place to place, to brynge deer to þe quirre. Ibid., Þen shulde þe maistre of þe game leede þe kynge to þe querre, and shewe it hym. c 1500 Wyl Bucke's Test. (Copland) 31 He that me helpeth to the quarry bringe I wyll that he haue mi necke, for a shorte repaste. a 1550 Hunting of Cheviot 8 in Child Ballads III. 307 To the quyrry then the Perse went, To se the bryttlynge off the deare. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. E, The carkases of the deade, like a quarrie of Deare at a general hunting, [shall be] hurled vppon a heape. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 206 To relate the manner Were on the Quarry of these murther'd Deere To adde the death of you. |
† b. transf. A heap of dead men; a pile of dead bodies. Obs.
| 1589 R. Robinson Gold. Mirr. (Chetham Soc.) p. xxiii, Till to the quirry, a number out of count, Were brought to reape the iust reward at last. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 308 All fowly foiled with bloud, and the quarrey of the dead. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. viii. vii. §50. 410 Then went they in haste to the quarry of the dead, but by no meanes could finde the body of the King. |
| fig. 1633 Herbert Temple, Sinner 30, I finde there quarries of pil'd vanities. |
3. a. The bird flown at or killed by a hawk or other bird of prey.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans D ij, Yowre hawke fleeth to the querre. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. xi. 43 As when Joue's..bird from hye Stoupes at a flying heron..The stone dead quarrey falls. 1695 Congreve Love for L. v. ii, Hooded like a hawk, to sieze at first sight upon the quarry. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. xxv. 166 Wrens and sparrows are not too ignoble a quarry for this villanous gos-hawk. 1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1872) I. iii. viii. 352 A falcon swooping on its quarry. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion ii. v. 84 There wheels a vulture seeking other quarry. |
b. The animal pursued or taken by hounds or hunters (see also quot. 1867).
| 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xiii. 215 No beast shall prove thy Quarries heere, Save those the best of chase. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl., Disc. Occas. Med. (1848) 22 One [Rabbit] sets him a running, and another proves his Quarry. 1695 Temple Hist. Eng. (1699) 180 The Game, which it was their Interest to preserve, both for their Sport and the Quarry. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. Introd., The startled quarry bounds amain, As fast the gallant greyhounds strain. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Quarry, the prey taken by whalers. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 206 The pack pressed their sinking quarry into and through the coverts. |
c. fig. Any object of chase, aim, or attack; an intended prey or victim.
| 1615 T. Tomkis Albumazar v. i. in Hazl. Dodsley XI. 404 When they counter Upon one quarry, break that league, as we do. 1693 Dryden Juvenal Pref. (1697) 61 Folly was the proper Quarry of Horace, and not Vice. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol iii. 362 If from some small Creek, A lurking Corsair the rich Quarry Spies. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iii. iii, Count Mirabeau..scents or descries richer quarry from afar. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iii. 29 The archbishop dared not at once strike so large a quarry. |
4. The attack or swoop made by a hawk upon a bird; the act of seizing or tearing the quarry.
| 1607 Heywood Wom. Killed w. Kindn. Wks. 1874 II. 99 My Hawke kill'd too. Char. I, but 'twas at the querre,—Not at the mount, like mine. 1615 Latham Falconry (1633) 27 These kindes of Hawkes..will be presently wonne with two or three quarries. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety v. §16 Prometheus's vultur begins her quarry in this life. 1884 T. Speedy Sport xix. 360 We have not above half-a-dozen times seen the peregrine in the act of making a quarry. |
5. Comb., as quarry-overtaking, quarry-scorning adjs.
| 1647 Fanshawe tr. Pastor Fido (1676) 7 Within whose Quarry-scorning mind had place The pleasure or the glory of the Chase. 1873 Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 400 Forward, the firm foot! Onward the quarry-overtaking eye! |
▪ II. quarry, n.2
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
Forms: 5 quar(r)ey, querry, 6 quarye, 6–7 quarrie, (7 -ey, quarie), 6– quarry, (9 dial. wharry).
[a. med.L. quareia (1266 in Du Cange), var. of quareria, etc. quarrer, q.v. See also quar n.2, quarrel n.2]
1. a. An open-air excavation from which stone for building or other purposes is obtained by cutting, blasting, or the like; a place where the rock has been, or is being, cut away in order to be utilized.
| c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3657 W{supt} an hors..He ladde stones from þe quarey to þe chirche. 1458 R. Fannande Inscr. St. Helen's, Abingdon in Leland Itin. (1769) VII. 80 Than crafti men for the querry made crowes of yre. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 5 Quareyes of marble of diuerse maner stones. 1562 Act. 5 Eliz. c. 13 §3 The Rubbish or smallest broken Stones of any Quarry. 1577 J. Northbrooke Diving (1843) 135 Let him be punished and cast..in the quarries to digge stones. 1664 Dryden Rival Ladies ii. i, If thou wouldst offer both the Indies to me, The Eastern Quarries, and the Western Mines. 1728 Young Love of Fame i. 168 Belus..builds himself a name; and, to be great, Sinks in a quarry an immense estate! 1759 Johnson Rasselas xxxvii, Walls supply stones more easily than quarries. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xv. II. 320 The quarries were filled with these unfortunate captives. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile vii. 165 An ancient quarry from which the stone has been cut out in smooth masses. |
| fig. 1647 Cowley Mistr., Thraldom v, Others with sad and tedious art, Labour i' the Quarries of a stony Heart. 1663 Sir G. Mackenzie Relig. Stoic xvii. (1685) 152 Each sentence seems a quarry of rich meditations. 1847 Ld. Lindsay Chr. Art I. 60 The whole quarry of legends, ceremonies and superstitions which Rome..employed in the structure of..the church of the middle ages. |
b. transf. Any place from which stones may be obtained as from a quarry.
| 1838 Thirlwall Greece II. 364 Houses, temples, the monuments of the dead, were the quarries from which they drew. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 48 Its walls were a quarry of precious stones. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 220 The ruins of the Roman town still remained as a quarry; where all who would might seek materials for their own buildings. |
† 2. A large mass of stone or rock in its natural state, capable of being quarried. Obs.
| c 1630 Milton Passion 46 On the softned Quarry would I score My plaining vers. 1670 Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. Granada v. i, As some huge rock, Rent from its quarry, does the waves divide. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 107 When they meet with Rocks or Quarries, they make use of Gun-powder to blow them up. 1764 Museum Rust. II. lxxviii. 272 Where lucern is planted upon a quarry, if the stone hath not many interstices..the length of the roots will be impeded. |
| fig. a 1625 Fletcher Love's Pilgr. v. iv, Though I am none of those Flinty fathers, yet..All are not of my quarry. |
† 3. The hard granular part of a pear. Obs. rare—1. (So F. carrière.)
| 1707 Curiosities in Husb. & Gard. 47 Besides these Parts, a Pear has one called the Quarry, which is a little heap of stony Knobs. |
4. attrib. and Comb., as quarry-cart, quarry-district, quarry-face, quarry-ground, quarry-hole, quarry-land, quarry-mason, quarry-master, quarry-owner, quarry-pit, quarry-rid (refuse), quarry-slave, quarry-stone, quarry-wagon, etc.; quarrylike adj.; quarry-faced a., rough-faced, as taken from the quarry; quarry-stone bond, rubble masonry; quarry-sap, -water, the moisture contained in newly quarried stone.
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. (1807) I. 62 The *quarry-cart, a strong low cart for the loading and carrying of heavy stones. |
| 1893–4 R. O. Heslop Northumb. Words II. 557 Quarry⁓fyess, the *quarry face; its perpendicular side. 1936 Discovery Oct. 317/1 The skull..is thought to be still buried in the quarry-face. 1974 Environmental Conservation I. 38/1 Quarry-face risks are by no means confined to high country where population is sparse. |
| 1577 Harrison England ii. xxii. (1877) i. 337 Where the rocks and *quarrie grounds are. |
| 1891 G. Neilson Per Lineam Valli 32 Hundreds of *quarry-holes, mere surface pitmarks on the hill sides. |
| 1792 A. Young Trav. France 289 Rock and *quarry-land, with sandy gravels, abound there. |
| 1856 Mrs. Stowe Dred II. vi. 76 They are *quarry-masters, that quarry out marble enough for a generation to work up. |
| 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 955 Dionysius..sent him forthwith to dig in the *Quarry-pit. 1911 J. Masefield Everlasting Mercy 4 In the old quarry-pit they say Head-keeper Pike was made away. |
| 1862 Min. Proc. Inst. C.E. XXI. 482 Covered with a layer of puddled clay..‘*quarry rid’ and broken stone. |
| 1883 Stonemason Jan., So that..the *quarry sap might be thoroughly dried out of them, and the stone..fit for use. |
| 1813 J. Forsyth Rem. Excurs. Italy 271 An iron crow..appears to have been left there by some ancient *quarry-slave. 1856 Bryant Thanatopsis 77 Like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon. |
| 1937 Blunden Elegy 15 Above the square With plodding *quarry-waggons filled. |
| 1838 C. Lyell Elements of Geol. i. iv. 74 It is desirable to shape the stones which are to be used in architecture while they are yet soft and wet, and while they contain their ‘*quarry-water’. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 22 Stone when freshly taken from the quarry usually holds moisture, known to the workman as ‘quarry water’. |
▪ III. quarry, n.3
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
Also 6 -ey, 7 -ie.
[Later form of quarrel n.1, perh. after quarry a. or F. quarré n. (see next).]
† 1. A square-headed arrow. = quarrel 1. Obs.
| 1600 Fairfax Tasso iii. xlix, The shafts and quarries from their engins flie. 1627 Drayton Agincourt 20 Out of the Towne come quarries thick as haile. |
2. A pane of glass; = quarrel n.1 3. Also occas. round in shape.
| 1611 Cotgr., Rhombe,..a figure that hath equall sides, and vnequall angles; as a quarrie of glasse, etc. 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. i. (1682) 145 They only open a little quarry of Glass, and presently shut it close again. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Quarry, Quarries, or quarrels, of glass, are of two kinds: viz. square and long;..the acute angle being 77° 19{p} in the square quarries, and 67° 22{p} in the long ones. 1733 Neal Hist. Purit. II. 234 He took down a quarry or two in a quiet and peaceable manner. 1879 Mrs. Oliphant Within Precincts (Tauchn.) I. iv. 62 This window was filled with old painted glass in..quarries. 1913 F. S. Eden Anc. Glass iv. 82 Round quarries, set close together in rows, are..formed in lieu of rectangular quarries. 1970 H. Braun Parish Churches viii. 111 The glass of medieval days was..set as a mosaic of diamond-shaped ‘quarries’ fixed together with a network of delicate tooled strips. |
| attrib. 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 158 For taking down Quarry-glass, Scouring it..and setting up again, the usual Price is 1½d. per Foot. 1899 R. Glazier Man. Hist. Ornament 98 ‘Quarry glass’, square or diamond in shape, with brown enamel details, was frequently used, where simple masses were desired. 1971 Country Life 20 May 1248/1, I have had an estimate made..for filling all the nave and one chancel window with quarry glass of a very pleasing though simple kind. |
3. A square stone, tile, or brick. = quarrel n.1 4.
| 1555 Eden Decades 329 Al matters of hard compositions as quarreys and stones. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 379 Lying not..as the quarries of a Pavement, but as the scales of Fishes. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 179 ¶8 What Ground remains..is flagged with large Quarries of white Marble. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. ii. xvi, Scoured deal, red quarries, and white-wash. |
| fig. 1593 Nashe 4 Lett. Confut. 68 In a verse, when a worde of three sillables cannot thrust in but sidelings, to ioynt him euen, we are oftentimes faine to borrowe some lesser quarry of elocution from the Latine. |
4. Comb., as quarry-layer; quarry-tile (see quot. 1940); also attrib.; hence quarry-tiled a.
| 1885 Census Instruct. 87 Brick-, Tile-maker..Quarry Layer, Presser, Maker. |
| 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 692/2 Quarry tile, the common unglazed, machine-made paving tile not less than 3/4 in. in thickness. 1953 [see chip-board s.v. chip n.1 9 a]. 1966 Listener 28 July 128/2 Rough concrete and quarry⁓tile floors like a farmhouse kitchen. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard 258 He rapped his knuckles against the brown quarry-tiles in frustration. 1976 Outdoor Living (N.Z.) I. ii. 9/2 You might choose to have concrete, bricks or quarry tiles or it might suit the house more to have a timber surface for your sunny area. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. (Advt. Section) 18/9 See this family oriented 3 bedroom home with its quarry tile floors. |
| 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 22 Mar. 66/3 The covered bullock yard at Drayton has..a flat quarry-tiled feeding floor edged with a 6 in kerb for silage. |
▪ IV. † quarry, n.4 Obs. rare—1.
[? a. F. quarré (now carré) a square piece, n. use of quarré quarry a. See also quarion, quarrier.]
A square candle.
| 1526 Househ. Ord. (1790) 157 One of the groomes..to carry to the chaundrie all the remaine of morters, torches, quarries, pricketts. |
▪ V. † ˈquarry, a.1 Obs.
Also 4–5 quarre, (4 -ee, -ey, quare, ? quaire), 6 quarye, 7 quarrie.
[a. OF. quarré (mod.F. carré):—L. quadrāt-us square, quadrate a.]
Square; squarely built, stout.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8527 Quarre [v.r. quarry, quare] he was & wel ymad vor to be strong. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10310 Þat lough ys here yn þys contre, Cornerd as a cheker quarre. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1072 Brode scholdres had he with-alle; & brustes ful quarree. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 92 Anoþer [plant]..whos braunche is quarre, whos leuys er round. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 419/1 Quarry, thykk mann, or womann,..corpulentus, grossus. 1575 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 93 They are so quarry bigge and righte Babylonian like. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 499 To make his images of a quarry and square stature. 1611 Cotgr., Corpulent, grosse, big-bodied, quarrie, fat. |
▪ VI. † ˈquarry, a.2 Obs. rare.
In 6–7 quar(r)ie.
[f. quar v.2 + -y1.]
Clotted, coagulated.
| 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheepe (1627) 241 Put the fine powder of rozen into the cod, and that will dry vp the quarie bloud. 1638 Featley Transubst. 76 You touch no soft flesh with your hand, nor quarrie blood with your lips. |
▪ VII. quarry, v.1
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
[f. quarry n.1]
† 1. trans. a. To teach (a hawk) to seize its quarry. b. To supply with a quarry (in quot. fig.)
| 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 121 At the beginning rewarde hir and feede hir well vpon the quarrey... When she is well in bloude, and well quarried, then let hir flee with other hawkes. 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Captain iii. iii, 'Tis pity Thou shouldst not be well quarred at thy entr'ing Thou art so high flown for him. 1618 Latham 2nd Bk. Falconry (1633) 117 Hauing a good make Hawke, you shall wel quarrie her, and then she will bee worthy the accounting of. |
† 2. intr. To pounce or seize on, as a hawk on its quarry; to prey or feed on. Obs.
| 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xxi. 38 She quarries on the prey she meets withal. a 1658 Cleveland Poems, To Protector (1677) 144 Can your Towring Spirit, which hath quarried upon Kingdoms, make a stoop at us? 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 9 (1713) I. 58 Though Eagles do not quarry upon Flies. 1709 Jer. Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. iv. 39 He has quarryed upon the whole, and master'd the Men, as well as the Money. |
3. trans. To hunt down or kill (a beast of chase).
| 1820 Byron Mar. Fal. iii. ii. 402 Nor turn aside to strike at such a prey, Till nobler game is quarried. |
▪ VIII. quarry, v.2
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
[f. quarry n.2]
1. a. trans. To obtain (stone, etc.) by the processes employed in a quarry. Also with out.
| 1774 Goldsmith Hist. Earth v, In the mountains of Castravan..they quarry out a white stone. 1811 Pinkerton Petral. II. 57 It is quarried at Vulpino, 15 leagues from Milan. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxx. (1856) 258 Now we had to quarry out the blocks [of ice] in flinty, glassy lumps. 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 39 Higher up the river valley were quarried the massive syenite slabs used in the erection of their temples. |
b. fig. To obtain or extract by laborious methods.
| 1860 Maury Phys. Geog. Sea x. (Low) §465 Materials which a certain kind of insect quarried from the sea water. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 361 His only object was to quarry gold and silver out of the monastic treasuries. 1936 R. Campbell Mithraic Emblems 57 The gypsies quarried from the gloom, For their carouse a silver hall. 1958 L. Durrell Balthazar vi. 140 Were these words of Pursewarden's quarried from his own experience? 1975 New Yorker 29 Apr. 6/1 (Advt.), Dick Wellstood, a subtle and inventive pianist, reproduced the raw materials..that the old-master pianists of the thirties and forties quarried their styles out of. |
2. a. To form a quarry in, to cut into (rock, etc.).
| 1847 Emerson Poems, The House, She ransacks mines and ledges, And quarries every rock. 1866 Liddon Bampt. Lect. i. (1875) 34 The rocky hillside is no longer beautiful when it has been quarried. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile v. 120 The rocky barrier..quarried here and there in dazzling gaps of snow-white cuttings. |
b. Physical Geogr. = pluck v. 1 b.
| 1874 Overland Monthly Aug. 179/1 The size of the blocks, their abundance along the line of dispersal, and the probable rate of motion of the glacier which quarried and transported them, form data by which..the rate of block denudation may be reached. Ibid. 180/1 They had been quarried from the base of the ridge. 1909 Jrnl. & Proc. R. Soc. N.S. Wales XLIII. 264 Frequently the ice impact had been of such nature that a rock block had been quarried across the dominant joint structure. 1955 Longwell & Flint Introd. Physical Geol. xii. 191 The bottom of the glacier breaks off blocks of bedrock and quarries them out, especially from surfaces unsupported on their downstream sides. 1976 J. E. Sanders et al. Physical. Geogr. x. 346 Typically, the remaining mountain rim towers high above the bottom of a cirque because centuries of frost wedging enables the glacier to quarry deeply into the rock. |
3. intr. To cut or dig in, or as in, a quarry.
| 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. ii. x, Something did strike my heart..Which quarries daily there with dead dull pain. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. x. 345 The industrious will find..waste paper in which they may quarry to their heart's content. |
Hence ˈquarrying vbl. n. Also pl. and attrib.
| 1823 Crabb, Quarryings, pieces that are broken off from the different materials that are wrought in quarries. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. xiii. (1860) 138 On first commencing our quarrying operations. 1865 Swinburne Poems & Ball., Orchard 33 No quarrying now the corner-stone is hewn. 1904 Jrnl. Geol. XII. 574 The glacier will be efficient as the agent for débris removal; the result, therefore, must be quarrying and excavation, and basal sapping. 1969 D. J. Easterbrook Princ. Geomorphol. xvi. 314 Storm waves are especially effective where rocks along the shore are highly jointed or bedded, and are thus vulnerable to quarrying. |
▪ IX. ˈquarry, v.3 rare—1.
[f. quarry n.3 2 or 3.]
trans. To glaze or lay with quarries.
| 1851 Turner Dom. Archit. I. v. 246 To whitewash and quarry the King's chamber. |