| 释义 |
ˈtop-stone
A stone which is placed upon or forms the top of something; a cap-stone: chiefly fig. Also, the upper end-stone or jewel in a chronometer.
1658–9in Burton's Diary (1828) III. 222 Our kings: those that know history, know they were kings before the Parliament declared them so, their top-stone. 1662Jer. Taylor Serm. to Univ. Dublin 51 Humane learning is an excellent Foundation; but the top-stone is laid by Love and Conformity to the will of God. 1707Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 3 Where are abundance of flat Stones, they make Fences of them by laying of them one upon another like a Wall, and only lay the Top-stones in Clay to keep them together, the weight of which secures the under ones. 1871Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. Sept. 513 Religion, that indispensable top-stone of every social edifice. 1901N. Amer. Rev. Feb. 292 The strict observance of the rules of Caste, with the Brâhman as the top-stone of the social pyramid, was everything. |