windmill
n. countablen. a tall building with large blades that turn in the wind. It uses the wind's power to grind grain into flour or to pump water.
n. a structure with large sails or vanes that rotate when driven by the wind, providing power to a mill or pump.
The old windmill still stands on the hill.
Farmers in the region historically used the windmill to pump water from deep underground into their fields.
The landscape is dotted with traditional windmills that once served as the primary means of processing grain for the local agricultural community.
From Middle English wyndmylne, wyndmylle, equivalent to wind + mill. Cognate with Scots wyndmyln, wyndmyl, Saterland Frisian Wíendmäälne, West Frisian wynmûne, Dutch windmolen, Afrikaans windmeul, Dutch Low Saxon windmölle (Achterhooks), wiendmeule (Drents, Veluws), German Low German Windmöhl, German Windmühle, Danish vindmølle, Norwegian Bokmål vindmølle, Norwegian Nynorsk vindmølle, vindmylne, Swedish vindmölla, Icelandic vindmylla. (imaginary enemy): A reference to Don Quixote tilting at windmills.