whinstone

American  

[hwin-stohn, win-] / ˈʰwɪnˌstoʊn, ˈwɪn- /

noun

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

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whinstone British  

/ ˈwɪnˌstəʊn /

noun

1. any dark hard fine-grained rock, such as basalt

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Etymology

Origin of whinstone

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

Example Sentences

Made of Scottish whinstone, the lecterns were commissioned by the Guardians of Scotland Trust, set up in 2011 to mark the equal contribution made by Wallace and de Moray in the Wars of Scottish Independence.

From BBC • May 29, 2015

It was like the rest of these desolate isles, all of dark whinstone, cracked in every direction, and worn with the action of winds, waves, and tempests, since the world began.

From Grace Darling Heroine of the Farne Islands by Hope, Eva

It is of whinstone, and "appears not to have had the chisel, or any inscription upon it."

From Archaeological Essays, Vol. 1 by Stuart, John

The base of these hills was of close-grained white-coloured granite, or whinstone: the summits of good freestone: on the sides several good pieces of iron ore were picked up.

From Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales by Oxley, John

Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, useless sort of whinstone, which adds considerably to the expense of building on them.

From Trade and Travel in the Far East or Recollections of twenty-one years passed in Java, Singapore, Australia and China. by Davidson, G. F.