loadstone [lohd-stohn] ExamplesWord Origin noun
Origin of loadstone 1505–15; earlier load lode + stone lodestone or load·stone [lohd-stohn] noun
- a variety of magnetite that possesses magnetic polarity and attracts iron.
- a piece of this serving as a magnet.
- something that attracts strongly.
Origin of lodestone 1505–15; lode (in obsolete sense “way, course”) + stone Examples from the Web for loadstone Historical Examples of loadstone
The Loadstone Rock was drawing him, and he must sail on, until he struck.
Charles Dickens
One came from the finding of the loadstone, or natural magnet.
Edward R. Shaw
She drew as potently, and to all appearances as impassively, as a loadstone.
George Washington Cable
Then the heap of money was a loadstone for all their hungry eyes.
Bidwell’s Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison
Austin Biron Bidwell
They made small boats, but were ignorant of the loadstone and the compass.
The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2)
John Fiske.
British Dictionary definitions for loadstone loadstone noun
- a variant spelling of lodestone
lodestone loadstone noun
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- a rock that consists of pure or nearly pure magnetite and thus is naturally magnetic
- a piece of such rock, which can be used as a magnet and which was formerly used as a primitive compass
- a person or thing regarded as a focus of attraction
Word Origin for lodestone C16: literally: guiding stone Word Origin and History for loadstone lodestone n.
“magnetically polarized oxide of iron,” 1510s, literally “way-stone,” from lode + stone (n.). So called because it was used to make compass magnets to guide mariners. Figurative use from 1570s.
loadstone in Science lodestone
- A piece of the mineral magnetite that acts like a magnet.