whinstone

[hwin-stohn, win-]

noun

Chiefly British. any of the dark-colored, fine-grained rocks, especially igneous rocks, as dolerite and basalt.

Origin of whinstone

1505–15; dial. (Scots and N England) whin whinstone (Middle English quin < ?) + stone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whinstone

Historical Examples of whinstone

It is of whinstone, and "appears not to have had the chisel, or any inscription upon it."
Archaeological Essays, Vol. 1
James Y. Simpson
Think what these black bare lumps of whinstone are, and what they do.
Madam How and Lady Why
Charles Kingsley
The hills, at the foot of which we are encamped, are composed of whinstone (basalt).
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia
Ludwig Leichhardt
And there were charges of thefts of a whinstone, a knife, a razor, against certain incorrigible purloiners.
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 1; or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria
Henry Morton Stanley
Popular names for them are "whinstone," "greenstone," "toadstone" and "trap."
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for whinstone

whinstone

noun

any dark hard fine-grained rock, such as basalt

Word Origin for whinstone

C16: from whin ² + stone

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