whinstone
[hwin-stohn, win-]
- Chiefly British. any of the dark-colored, fine-grained rocks, especially igneous rocks, as dolerite and basalt.
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Origin of whinstone
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for whinstone
Historical Examples
It is of whinstone, and "appears not to have had the chisel, or any inscription upon it."
Archaeological Essays, Vol. 1James Y. Simpson
Think what these black bare lumps of whinstone are, and what they do.
Madam How and Lady WhyCharles Kingsley
The hills, at the foot of which we are encamped, are composed of whinstone (basalt).
Journal of an Overland Expedition in AustraliaLudwig Leichhardt
And there were charges of thefts of a whinstone, a knife, a razor, against certain incorrigible purloiners.
Popular names for them are "whinstone," "greenstone," "toadstone" and "trap."
whinstone
- any dark hard fine-grained rock, such as basalt
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Word Origin
C16: from whin ² + stone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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