holystone
UK /ˈhəʊl.ɪ.stəʊn/ · US /ˈhoʊl.i.stoʊn/ noun, verb
Forms holystones holystoning holystoned
- noun (nautical) A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater.
- noun A stone with a naturally-formed hole, used by Yorkshiremen for good luck.
- verb (transitive) To use a holystone.
Synonyms
Etymology
Uncertain, but equivalent to holy + stone. As an amulet, probably from holey (“having a hole”). As a scouring stone, variously derived from holey, from the amulet, from its association with Sunday cleaning, from its users' adoption of a kneeling position similar to prayer, and (least likely) from their original provision by raiding graveyards for tombstones.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “holystone”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details