mill [OE] Early mills ground corn into flour using water or wind power. The root of mill is Latin molere ‘to grind’, also the source of *meal ‘the edible part of any grain or pulse’, and molar [ME] the grinding tooth. Since the early 19th century people have been able to put someone through the mill, or cause them to have a difficult experience. A millstone [OE] is a large circular stone used to grind corn. The origins of a millstone around your neck, ‘a heavy burden of responsibility’, lie in a far more unpleasant practice. It is thought to come from an ancient method of execution which involved throwing a person into deep water with a heavy stone attached to their neck.