Etymologically
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limestone

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈlaɪmˌstəʊn/[1]
  • US: /ˈlaɪmˌstoʊn/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from English lime + stone in English,[2][3][4][5] because the rock yields lime when it is burned.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The rock that yields lime when burned: Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century,[3] the Shorter Oxford to late Middle English[4] and Merriam-Webster to the 14th century,[6] while the OED's first example is from Fitzherbert's Book of Surveying (1523)[2] and Dictionary.com dates it to 1515–25.[7]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to the original: Johnson (1755) defined it as the stone from which lime is made, quoting Mortimer's Husbandry on spreading it on cold land.[5] From 1664, in John Evelyn, it was also used of a particular kind or a piece of this rock,[2] and since the late 17th century attributively, of things made of limestone.[4] The OED notes that marble is its crystalline form.[2] Mostly in American English the rock is also called limerock.[3]

Timeline

  • late 14th century – limestone.[3][4]
  • 1523 – the OED's first example.[2]
  • 1664 – a kind or a piece of the rock.[2]
  • late 17th century – attributive, made of limestone.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sedimentary rock made chiefly of calcium carbonate, often formed from shells and coral, which yields lime when burned and is used for building and in making cement.
  2. A brownish colour, hair brown.

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House