stone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The hard substance that rock is made of, often used as a building material.

   The old castle was built of grey stone.

2. 2
   noun

   A small piece of rock.

   He skipped flat stones across the surface of the lake.

3. 3
   noun

   The hard seed in the centre of some fruits such as peaches, plums, and cherries.

   Remove the stones from the cherries before baking.

4. 4
   noun

   A unit of weight equal to 14 pounds (about 6.35 kg), used in Britain for body weight.

   I weigh eight stone five.

5. 5
   verb

   To throw stones at someone, especially as a punishment.

   In ancient times, criminals were sometimes stoned to death.

Common collocations

• natural stone Adjective + noun
• precious stone Adjective + noun
• stone floor Adjective + noun
• skip stones Verb + noun
• carve stone Verb + noun
• carborundum stone Noun + noun
• pumice stone Noun + noun
• stone curlew Noun + noun
• ponderous stone Adjective + noun

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- Proto-Indo-European *stoyh₂nos Proto-Germanic *stainaz Proto-West Germanic *stain Old English stān Middle English ston English stone From Middle English ston, stone, stan, from Old English stān, from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”). Cognates Cognate with Scots stane (“stone”), Yola sthoan (“stone”), North Frisian stean, stian, stiin, stiinj (“stone”), Saterland Frisian Steen (“stone”), West Frisian stien (“stone”), Alemannic German Steei (…

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images