holystone

[ hoh-lee-stohn ]

/ ˈhoʊ liˌstoʊn /

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noun

a block of soft sandstone used in scrubbing the decks of a ship.

verb (used with object), ho·ly·stoned, ho·ly·ston·ing.

to scrub with a holystone.

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Origin of holystone

1815–25; holy + stone; perhaps originally jocular or profane

Words nearby holystone

Holy See, Holy Sepulcher, Holy Sepulchre, holy smoke, Holy Spirit, holystone, holy synod, holy terror, holy thistle, Holy Thursday, holytide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use holystone in a sentence

If my boot should leave a stain on the marble, George must not holystone it away.
A Mark Twain Christmas Story|The Daily Beast|December 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He went to the pump for more water, and the man crawled back to his holystone.
"Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Stories of the Sea|Morgan Robertson
He pointed to a man who with one hand was rubbing a small holystone in a corner where a large one would not go.
"Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Stories of the Sea|Morgan Robertson
Birch stooped over his holystone, and Peters turned to go forward again.
The Pirate Shark|Elliott Whitney

A small flint or stone having a natural hole in it, and worn as a charm, is also called a holystone.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5|Various
At five o'clock we have to get up and go inside again so they can holystone the deck.
Parrot & Co.|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for holystone

holystone

/ (ˈhəʊlɪˌstəʊn) /

noun

a soft sandstone used for scrubbing the decks of a vessel

verb

(tr) to scrub (a vessel's decks) with a holystone

Word Origin for holystone

C19: perhaps so named from its being used in a kneeling position

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012