Etymologically
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sandstone

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 05:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈsændˌstəʊn/[1]
  • US: /ˈsændˌstoʊn/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English sand + stone,[2][3][4][5][6] so called from what the rock is made of.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A rock made of consolidated sand: 1668, in Charleton's Onomasticon Zoicon, in the OED,[2] and the 1660s in Etymonline;[3] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1609.[4] Etymonline also notes an earlier, isolated use from the mid-15th century for some kind of stone.[3]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) described sandstone as a loose, crumbly stone that easily falls back into sand.[7] In British geology the names Old Red Sandstone and New Red Sandstone were given to two series of red rocks lying below and above the Carboniferous.[2][5] Etymonline notes that in Britain the rock is sometimes called sandrock.[3] Merriam-Webster also records sandstone as the name of a light greyish-brown to reddish-brown colour.[4]

Timeline

  • mid-15th century – an isolated use for some kind of stone.[3]
  • 1609 – first known use, according to Merriam-Webster.[4]
  • 1668 – a rock made of consolidated sand.[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sedimentary rock made of grains of sand, usually quartz, cemented together by silica, iron oxide, clay or other material, and often red, yellow, brown, grey or white; it is widely used in building: The old church is built of local sandstone.[4][9][5]
  2. A light greyish-brown to reddish-brown colour.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins