stone

Etymology

From Middle English ston, stone, stan, from Old English stān, from Proto-West Germanic *stain, from Proto-Germanic *stainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”).

See also West Frisian stien, Saterland Frisian Steen, Dutch steen, German Stein, Danish and Swedish sten, Norwegian stein; also Russian стена́ (stená, “wall”), Ancient Greek στία (stía, “pebble”), στέαρ (stéar, “tallow”), Albanian shtëng (“hardened or pressed matter”), Sanskrit स्त्यायते (styāyate, “it hardens”)). Doublet of stein.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /stəʊn/

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /stoʊn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /stɐʉn/
• Rhymes: -əʊn

Noun

stone (countable and uncountable, plural stones or (UK colloquial, as unit of mass) stone)

2. (uncountable, geology) A hard earthen substance that can form large rocks.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 143, column 2:

     Toad, that vnder cold ſtone, / Dayes and Nights ha’s thirty one: / Sweltred Venom ſleeping got, / Boyle thou firſt i’th’ charmed pot.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 20:1:

     The first day of the weeke, commeth Mary Magdalene earely when it was yet darke, vnto the Sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the Sepulchre.

   • 1858, Edward Thornton, A Gazetteer of the Territories Under the Government of the East India Company and of the Native States on the Continent of India‎, W. H. Allen & Co., page 22:

     It is about 2,500 yards in circuit, is built of red stone, and, according to Von Orlich, is now " a bastioned quinquangle ; the ancient walls with semicircular bastions face the two streams ; the land side is quite regular, and consists of two bastions, and a half-bastion with three ravelins," and stands higher than any ground in face of it.

   • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:

     The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

4. A small piece of stone, a pebble.
6. A gemstone, a jewel, especially a diamond.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 180, column 1:

     […] Ineſtimable Stones, vnvalewed Iewels […]

7. (British) A unit of mass equal to 14 pounds (≈6.3503 kilograms), formerly used for various commodities (wool, cheese, etc.), but now principally used for personal weight. Abbreviated as st.
   • 1843, The Penny Cyclopaedia, page 202:

     Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6+¹⁄₂ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. […] It is to be observed here that a sack is 13 tods, and a tod 28 pounds, so that the sack is 364 pounds.

   • 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume IV, page 209:

     Generally, however, the stone or petra, almost always of 14 lbs., is used, the tod of 28 lbs., and the sack of thirteen stones.

   • 1992 October 3, Edwina Currie, Diary:

     Weighed myself at the gym and have hit 10st 8lb, a sure sign of things getting out of control—so I can’t even console myself with a chocolate biscuit.

8. (botany) The central part of some fruits, particularly drupes; consisting of the seed and a hard endocarp layer.

   a peach stone

10. (medicine) A hard, stone-like deposit.
    • 2016 September 26, James Hamblin, “A Health Benefit of Roller Coasters”, in The Atlantic‎:

      The pain of passing a larger stone is often compared to child birth.

    Synonym: calculus

    Hyponyms: kidney stone, nephrolith, gallstone, cholelith, sialolith, urolith

11. (board games) A playing piece made of any hard material, used in various board games such as backgammon and go.
12. A dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.

    stone:  

13. (curling) A 42-pound, precisely shaped piece of granite with a handle attached, which is bowled down the ice.
14. A monument to the dead; a gravestone or tombstone.
    • 1717, Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume II, London: […] J. Wright, for Lawton Gilliver […], published 1717, →OCLC, page 434:

      Amid that scene, if ſome relenting eye
      Glance on the ſtone where our cold reliques lie.

    • 2013 November 25, Zayn Malik, “Story of My Life”, in Midnight Memories, Columbia Records; Syco Music:

      It seems to me that when I die / These words will be written on my stone […]

15. (obsolete) A mirror, or its glass.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], page 309, column 1:

      She's dead as earth: Lend me a Looking-glaſſe; / If that her breath will miſt or ſtaine the ſtone, / Why then ſhe liues.

16. (obsolete) A testicle.
    • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 56, column 1:

      […] and yet I warrant it had vpon it brow, a bumpe as big as a young Cockrels ſtone?

    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 23:1:

      Hee that is wounded in the ſtones, or hath his priuie member cut off, ſhall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord.

    • 1750, W[illiam] Ellis, The Country Housewife's Family Companion […] , London: James Hodges; B. Collins, →OCLC, page 157:

      To make Capons […] ſome for this Purpoſe make it their Buſineſs after Harveſt-time to go to Markets for buying up Chickens, and between Michaelmas and All-hollantide caponize the Cocks, when they have got large enough to have Stones of ſuch a Bigneſs that they may be pulled out; for if they are too little, it can't be done.

17. (printing, historical) A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc. before printing.

    Synonym: imposing stone

    • 1965, George Murray, The Madhouse on Madison Street, page 38:

      The Chief called the makeup editor to the stone, pointed to the story which had caught his eye, and suggested a fairly simple remake.

Verb

stone (third-person singular simple present stones, present participle stoning, simple past and past participle stoned)

1. (transitive) To pelt with stones, especially to kill by pelting with stones.

   She got stoned to death after they found her.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 7:55–60:

     55 But hee being full of the holy Ghost, looked vp stedfastly into heauen, and saw the glory of God, and Iesus standing on the right hand of God,
     56 And said, Behold, I see the heauens opened, and the Sonne of man standing on the right hand of God.
     57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their eares, and ran vpon him with one accord,
     58 And cast him out of the citie, and stoned him: and the witnesses layd downe their clothes at a yong mans feete, whose name was Saul.
     59 And they stoned Steuen, calling vpon God, and saying, Lord Iesus receiue my spirit.
     60 And he kneeled downe, and cried with a loud voice, Lord lay not this sinne to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleepe.

2. (transitive) To wall with stones.
   • 1974, Mathias Peter Harpin, Prophets in the wilderness: a history of Coventry, Rhode Island:

     […] and since it was a rule of the French troops not to be a burden on the people along their route it could be that the advance guard dug and stoned the well for the troop's own special use.

3. (transitive) To remove a stone from (fruit etc.).
4. (intransitive) To form a stone during growth, with reference to fruit etc.
5. (transitive, slang) To intoxicate, especially with narcotics. (Usually in passive)
6. (intransitive, Singapore, slang) To do nothing, to stare blankly into space and not pay attention when relaxing or when bored.
   • 2003, Roger, Joy, Vera and Amanda Loh, Facts about Singapore: Differences between Ohio and Singapore:

     I was stoning the whole of today.

   • 2011 November 2, Shermaine Ong, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Resume writing class lesson 2, stoning.

   • 2015 April 8, Becky Osawa, Trekking with Becky: Stoning at the Marina Barrage, Singapore:

     The Marina Barrage is a reservoir, but everyone goes there because the spacious greenery at the top is the perfect place for stoning, which is Singlish for hanging out and chilling.

7. (transitive) To lap with an abrasive stone to remove surface irregularities.

Adjective

stone (not comparable)

1. Constructed of stone.

   Synonym: (archaic) stonen

   stone walls

2. Having the appearance of stone.

   stone pot

3. Of a dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.
4. (African-American Vernacular) Used as an intensifier.

   She is one stone fox.

   • 1994, Andrew H. Vachss, Born Bad: Stories:

     Yeah, he's a stone fuck–up. But he's stand–up, too, don't forget that.

   • 2000 September 9, Lisa Beth, “Rabbi Shmuli Boteach Refuted”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated‎ (Usenet):

     Of course the Torah rejects (*some*) sexual acts between members of the same sex. And of course it doesn't condemn gays and lesbians. Someone who doesn't realize that is a stone bigot to begin with.

   • 2001, Andrew H. Vachss, Pain Management:

     “And I got the best metal man in the business going for me, too.” “This job's going to be a stone motherfucker,” Flacco said

   • 2009, John Lutz, Night Victims, page 307:

     He might be a stone killer who simply doesn't care if his victim's alive or dead at the time of disfigurement.

5. (LGBTQ, slang) Willing to give sexual pleasure but not to receive it.

   Antonym: pillow princess

   stone butch

   stone femme

   • 1993, Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues, Los Angeles: Alyson Books, published 2003, →ISBN, page 9:

     Lately I've read these stories by women who are so angry with stone lovers, even mocking their passion when they finally give way to trust, to being touched.

   • c. 2000, Sonya, “Femme Identity: Stone-Butch/Femme Dynamic, FTM/Femme Dynamic”, in Transensual Femme‎, archived from the original on 2000-05-20:

     My physical preference tends more to very masculine-bodied non-transitioning stone TG butches.

Adverb

stone (not comparable)

1. As a stone (used with following adjective).

   My father is stone deaf. This soup is stone cold.

2. (slang) Absolutely, completely (used with following adjectives).

   I went stone crazy after she left.

   I said the medication made my vision temporarily blurry, it did not make me stone blind.

Derived terms