Meaning

noun machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores

noun a heavy tool of stone or iron (usually with a flat base and a handle) that is used to grind and mix material (as grain or drugs or pigments) against a slab of stone

noun a club-shaped hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar

originFrom Middle English pestel, pestell, from Old French pestel, from Latin pistillum, from pīnsō (“pound, beat”). Doublet of pistil and pistillum.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0