loadstone









loadstone


loadstone [lohd-stohn] ExamplesWord Origin noun

  1. lodestone.

Origin of loadstone 1505–15; earlier load lode + stone lodestone or load·stone [lohd-stohn] noun

  1. a variety of magnetite that possesses magnetic polarity and attracts iron.
  2. a piece of this serving as a magnet.
  3. 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.

    A Tale of Two Cities

    Charles Dickens

  • One came from the finding of the loadstone, or natural magnet.

    Discoverers and Explorers

    Edward R. Shaw

  • She drew as potently, and to all appearances as impassively, as a loadstone.

    Bonaventure

    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

    1. a variant spelling of lodestone

    lodestone loadstone noun

      1. a rock that consists of pure or nearly pure magnetite and thus is naturally magnetic
      2. a piece of such rock, which can be used as a magnet and which was formerly used as a primitive compass
    1. 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

    1. A piece of the mineral magnetite that acts like a magnet.
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