windmill
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windmill
A building with sails or blades that are driven by the wind, for example to grind grain or pump water.
In Holland kann man viele historische Windmühlen besichtigen.
In Holland, you can visit many historic windmills.
The word is a clear compound of 'der Wind' (the wind) and 'die Mühle' (the mill). So it describes a mill that is powered by the force of the wind.
Die Flügel der Windmühle drehten sich langsam im Wind.
The sails of the windmill turned slowly in the wind.
The idiom 'gegen Windmühlen kämpfen' (to tilt at windmills) means to fight a hopeless battle, often against an overwhelmingly powerful or merely imagined opponent. The structure is fixed.
Sein Versuch, die Bürokratie allein zu ändern, war ein Kampf gegen Windmühlen.
His attempt to change the bureaucracy all by himself was like tilting at windmills.
This idiom comes from the famous novel 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes. In it, the main character mistakes windmills for giants and attacks them. Knowing this origin helps you understand the meaning.
Wie Don Quijote kämpfte er gegen Windmühlen, die nur in seinem Kopf existierten.
Like Don Quixote, he tilted at windmills that existed only in his head.
You can almost always recognize the idiomatic meaning by the verb 'kämpfen' (to fight) and the preposition 'gegen' (against). In all other contexts where the building itself is meant, the literal meaning is intended.
Wir haben eine alte Windmühle zu einem Wohnhaus umgebaut.
We converted an old windmill into a house.
mill
'die Mühle' and 'die Windmühle' can both mean a building where grain, for example, is ground. 'Mühle' is the more general word. A mill can be powered in different ways, or it can simply refer to a building with a grinding system. 'Windmühle' is more specific: it has sails or blades and uses wind as its power source. The words can be confused because every 'Windmühle' is a type of 'Mühle'. But not every 'Mühle' is a 'Windmühle'. When the sails or blades and the wind are important, 'Windmühle' is more natural.
Auf dem Hügel steht eine Windmühle mit großen weißen Flügeln.
On the hill stands a windmill with large white sails.
In der alten Mühle wird heute noch Mehl aus Roggen gemacht.
In the old mill, flour is still made from rye today.