STONE


Meaning of STONE in English

I. ˈstōn noun

( -s ; see sense 3 )

Etymology: Middle English stan, ston, stoon, from Old English stān; akin to Old High German stein stone, Old Norse steinn, Gothic stains stone, Latin stiria icicle, Greek stia, stion pebble, stear fat, tallow, Sanskrit styāyate it congeals, hardens; basic meaning: to harden

1. : a concretion of earthy or mineral matter of igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic origin:

a.

(1) : such a concretion of indeterminate size or shape : boulder , pebble

stones rolling down the hill

gathering stones on the beach

(2) : the substance of this concretion : rock

the mountain is solid stone

trees turned to stone in the petrified forest

b. : such a concretion mined, quarried, or shaped in a definite form or size or for a specified function: as

(1) : a building block

demolish the structure a stone at a time

(2) : a paving block : cobblestone

building barricades of the very stones of the streets

(3) : a precious stone : gem

(4) : a mineral matter used for a particular ornamental or commercial purpose

ornaments made of the rarer stones — banded slate, rose quartz, steatite — American Guide Series: New Jersey

(5) : a pillar or block of stone set as a monument or sign ; especially : gravestone

the burying ground, where you can find the stones of veterans of the Revolution — J.P.Marquand

(6) : a rounded missile fired from an arm or a sling

six stones for his sling

(7) : a shaped piece of rock used in a feat of strength (as curling)

(8) : millstone

(9) : grindstone

(10) : whetstone

(11) : a stand or table with a smooth flat top on which to impose or set type — called also surface

(12) : a surface upon which a drawing, text, or design to be lithographed is drawn or transferred

(13) : a watch jewel

2. : something resembling a small stone or pebble in shape, composition, or hardness: as

a.

(1) : calculus 1a

(2) : a hard natural growth (as an otolith) found in an animal

b. : testis

c. : hailstone

d.

(1) : the hard central portion of a drupaceous fruit (as a peach)

(2) : a hard stonelike seed (as of a date)

3. plural usually stone : any of various units of weight ranging from 4 to 26 pounds: as

a. : an official British unit equal to 14 pounds

b. : a British unit for meat equal to 8 pounds — called also Smithfield stone

4. : any of the colors common in stone or weathered rock — see deep stone , honey 6, light stone , stone gray

5. : china stone , cornish stone

6. : a small crystalline contamination in glass comprising unmelted batch material or a particle of the melting vessel

7. : a playing piece used in backgammon

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English stanen, stonen, from stan, ston, stoon, n.

transitive verb

1. : to hurl stones or sometimes other missiles at

was stoned by abolitionists — Mari Sandoz

began stoning us with empty beer cans — Leslie Waller

especially : to kill by hitting with stones

he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live — Exod 19:13 (Revised Standard Version)

2.

a. archaic : to make (a person) hard or insensitive to feeling

O perjured woman! Thou dost stone my heart — Shakespeare

b. : to make numb or insensible (as from drink or narcotics)

planned to stone himself with vodka — Truman Capote

3. : to face, pave, or fortify with stones

has dug a well and is stoning it

4.

a. : to free from stones

b. : to remove the stones or seeds of (a fruit)

500 grams of prunes stoned in advance — E.V.Knight

5.

a. : to rub, scour, or polish (as leather, dies, machined metal) with a stone

b. : to sharpen with a whetstone

stoned and whetted to a razor edge — American Guide Series: Connecticut

intransitive verb

: to form or develop a stone in the process of growing

III. adjective

Etymology: stone (I)

1. : of, relating to, or made of stone

2. often capitalized : of or relating to the Stone Age

stone culture

IV. adjective

: absolute : complete

a zeal that might be called pure stone craziness — Edwin Shrake

V. adverb

: absolutely : completely — used as an intensive

it is a stone positive fact, a scientific certainty — R.A.Aurthur

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.