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stone
stone / stōn/ • n. 1. the hard, solid, nonmetallic mineral matter of which rock is made, esp. as a building material: the houses are built of stone | [as adj.] high stone walls. ∎ a small piece of rock found on the ground. ∎ (in metaphorical use) weight or lack of feeling, expression, or movement: Isabel stood as if turned to stone her face became as hard as stone the elevator dropped like a stone. ∎ Astron. a meteorite made of rock, as opposed to metal. ∎ Med. a calculus; a gallstone or kidney stone. 2. a piece of stone shaped for a purpose, esp. one of commemoration, ceremony, or demarcation: a memorial stone boundary stones. ∎ a gem or jewel. ∎ short for curling stone. ∎ a round piece or counter, originally made of stone, used in various board games such as backgammon. ∎ a large flat table or sheet, originally made of stone and later usually of metal, on which pages of type were made up. 3. a hard seed in a cherry, plum, peach, and some other fruits. 4. (pl. same) Brit. a unit of weight equal to 14 pounds (6.35 kg): I weighed 10 stone. 5. a natural shade of whitish-gray or brownish-gray: [as adj.] stone stretch trousers. • v. [tr.] 1. throw stones at: policemen were stoned by the crowd. ∎ chiefly hist. execute (someone) by throwing stones at them: Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem. 2. remove the stone from (a fruit): halve, stone, and peel the avocados. 3. build, face, or pave with stone. PHRASES: be written (or engraved or set) in stone used to emphasize that something is fixed and unchangeable: anything can change—nothing is written in stone. cast (or throw) the first stone be the first to make an accusation (used to emphasize that a potential critic is not wholly blameless). leave no stone unturned try every possible course of action in order to achieve something. stone me! (or stone the crows!) Brit., inf. an exclamation of surprise or shock. a stone's throw a short distance: wild whales blowing a stone's throw from the boat.DERIVATIVES: stone·less adj. |
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"stone." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stone." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-stone020.html "stone." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-stone020.html |
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stone
stone a stone may be the type of motionlessness or fixity, or of hardness, and thus insensibility (as in stone-blind) or stupidity.
A stone is the emblem of St Stephen and St Jerome. set in stone used to emphasize that something is fixed and unchangeable (often in negative contexts). The allusion is to the Ten Commandments handed down to Moses on tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18). Stone Age a prehistoric period when weapons and tools were made of stone or of organic materials such as bone, wood, or horn; it covers a period of about 2.5 million years, from the first use of tools by the ancestors of man (Australopithecus) to the introduction of agriculture and the first towns. stone-dead hath no fellow proverbial saying, mid 17th century; traditionally used by advocates of the death penalty, or to suggest that only when a dangerous person is dead can one be sure that they will cause no further trouble. Stone of Scone the stone on which medieval Scottish kings were crowned at Scone. It was brought to England by Edward I and preserved in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey, and returned to Scotland in 1996. Also called Coronation stone, Stone of Destiny. a stone's throw a short distance. See also you cannot get blood from a stone, cast the first stone, heart of stone, kill two birds with one stone, leave no stone unturned, white stone. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-stone.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "stone." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-stone.html |
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stone
stone piece of rock or hard mineral substance OE.; measure of weight (14 lb.) XIV. OE. stān = OS. stēn (Du. steen), (O)HG. stein, ON. steinn, Goth. stains :- Gmc. *stainaz, rel. to OSl. stěna wall, Gr. stíā, stîon pebble. Comps. stonechat XVIII; the clash of pebbles is supposed imit. of the bird's alarm cry. stonecrop OE. stāncrop (the second el. is not identified). stonewall vb. (f. stone wall wall of stone as presenting an obstacle) offer resistance or obstruction XIX.
Hence stone vb. XII. stony (-Y1) OE. stāniġ. |
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T. F. HOAD. "stone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "stone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-stone.html T. F. HOAD. "stone." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-stone.html |
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Stone
Stone ♂ Probably for the most part a transferred use of the surname, which originally denoted someone who lived near a large boulder or outcrop. In other cases it may derive directly from the vocabulary word (Old English stān), and be chosen as representing qualities of strength and endurance.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Stone." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Stone." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Stone.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Stone." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Stone.html |
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Stone
Stone, ‘place at the stone or stones’, OE stān; examples include: Stone Bucks. Stanes 1086 (DB). Stone Glos. Stane 1204. Stone Kent, near Dartford. Stane 10th cent., Estanes 1086 (DB). Stone Staffs. Stanes 1187.
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A. D. MILLS. "Stone." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Stone." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Stone.html A. D. MILLS. "Stone." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Stone.html |
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stone
stone in weights and measures: see English units of measurement . |
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"stone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-stone.html "stone." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-stone.html |
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Stone
Stoneof drunks—Lipton, 1970. |
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"Stone." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Stone." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301488.html "Stone." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301488.html |
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stone
stone (stohn) n. see calculus.
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"stone." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stone." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-stone.html "stone." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-stone.html |
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stone
stone
•alone, atone, Beaune, bemoan, blown, bone, Capone, clone, Cohn, Cologne, condone, cone, co-own, crone, drone, enthrone, flown, foreknown, foreshown, groan, grown, half-tone, home-grown, hone, Joan, known, leone, loan, lone, moan, Mon, mown, ochone, outflown, outgrown, own, phone, pone, prone, Rhône, roan, rone, sewn, shown, Simone, Sloane, Soane, sone, sown, stone, strown, throne, thrown, tone, trombone, Tyrone, unbeknown, undersown, zone
•Dione • backbone • hambone
•breastbone • aitchbone
•tail bone, whalebone
•cheekbone • shin bone • hip bone
•wishbone • splint bone • herringbone
•thigh bone • jawbone • marrowbone
•knuckle bone • collarbone
•methadone • headphone • cellphone
•heckelphone • payphone • Freefone
•radio-telephone, telephone
•videophone • francophone
•megaphone • speakerphone
•allophone • Anglophone • xylophone
•gramophone • homophone
•vibraphone • microphone
•saxophone • answerphone
•dictaphone
•sarrusophone, sousaphone
•silicone • pine cone • snow cone
•flyblown • cyclone • violone
•hormone • pheromone • Oenone
•chaperone • progesterone
•testosterone
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Cite this article
"stone." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "stone." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-stone.html "stone." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-stone.html |
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