释义 |
stone 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 > |