limestone

See also: Limestone

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
English lime
Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-
Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂-
Proto-Indo-European *-nos
Proto-Indo-European *stóyh₂nos
Proto-Germanic *stainaz
Proto-West Germanic *stain
Old English stān
Middle English ston
English stone
English limestone

    From lime + stone.

    Pronunciation

    • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlaɪmˌstoʊn/
    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈlaɪmˌstəʊn/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -aɪmstəʊn

    Noun

    limestone (countable and uncountable, plural limestones)

    1. An abundant rock of marine and freshwater sediments; primarily composed of calcite (CaCO3); and occurring in a variety of forms, both crystalline and amorphous.
      a limestone viaduct
      • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
        The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door.
      • 1939 July, “What the Railways are Doing: The New Ebbw Vale Steelworks”, in Railway Magazine, page 68:
        As each blast furnace uses 200 tons of limestone daily, and each limestone kiln 150 tons, a total of 730 tons of limestone has to be carried daily, in addition to limestone chippings, which are sold.
      • 2024 November 19, Nicola Venning, “Welcome to the Notswolds”, in Country Life‎[1], archived from the original on 14 May 2025:
        Rutland (and some of the bordering ‘Notswolds’ counties of Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire) have the same mellow, creamy limestone as the Cotswolds and boast beguiling market towns and villages that are every bit as attractive, but without the tourists or hefty prices.

    Synonyms

    Hyponyms

    Derived terms

    Translations

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