Standard Lemma guide

millwheel

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A water wheel used to power a watermill.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

water wheel that is used to drive machinery in a mill

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mill wheel

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: waterwheel, water wheel

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *melh2- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *mélh2ti Proto-Italic *melō Latin molō Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnus Latin molīnus Late Latin molīnabor. Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu Old English mylen Proto-Indo-European *kwel- Proto-Indo-European *kwekwléh2 Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Old English mylenhwēol Middle English milnewhel English millwheel From Middle English milnewhel, from Old English mylenhwēol (“millwheel”), equivalent to mill + wheel.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: воденично колело (vodenično kolelo) — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Chinese Mandarin: 水輪 /水轮 (shuǐlún) — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Esperanto: rado de muelilo — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Finnish: vesipyörä — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • German: Mühlrad — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Manx: queeyl wyllinagh — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Russian: ме́льничное колесо́ (mélʹničnoje kolesó) — water wheel used to power a watermill
  • Swedish: kvarnhjul — water wheel used to power a watermill