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toadstone

[tohd-stohn]
noun
  1. any of various stones or stonelike objects, formerly supposed to have been formed in the head or body of a toad, worn as jewels or amulets.
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Origin of toadstone

First recorded in 1550–60; toad + stone
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for toadstone

Historical Examples

  • The setting is of silver, and the jewel which it carries is called a toadstone.

    Ten Thousand Wonderful Things

    Edmund Fillingham King

  • Popular names for them are "whinstone," "greenstone," "toadstone" and "trap."

  • Last of all he showed me a toadstone amulet set in silver, a charm to prevent and ward off the spells of fairies.

    The Heather-Moon

    C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson

  • The lead veins exist in the calcareous strata, but disappear at the limits of the toadstone.

  • Dark and weird are the legends relating to the power of the toadstone, that amulet so highly prized by witches and astrologers.

British Dictionary definitions for toadstone

toadstone

noun
  1. rare an amygdaloidal basalt occurring in the limestone regions of Derbyshire
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Word Origin

C18: perhaps from a supposed resemblance to a toad's spotted skin
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

Word Origin and History for toadstone

n.

"stone or stone-like object, supposedly magical (with healing or protective power) and found in the heads of certain toads," is attested from 1550s, from toad + stone (n.). Translating Greek batrakhites, Medieval Latin bufonites; cf. also French crapaudine (13c.), German krötenstein.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper