Definition of quarry

Word Originnoun sense 1 Middle English: from a variant of medieval Latin quareria, from Old French quarriere, based on Latin quadrum ‘a square’. The verb dates from the late 18th cent. noun sense 2 Middle English: from Old French cuiree, alteration, influenced by cuir ‘leather’ and curer ‘clean, disembowel’, of couree, based on Latin cor ‘heart’. Originally the term denoted the parts of a deer that were placed on the hide and given as a reward to the hounds.