WordofTheDay.US

whetstone

/ˈʍɛtˌstoʊn/ noun

In Latin: cōs Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about whetstone at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A sharpening stone; a hard stone or piece of synthetically bonded hard minerals that has been formed with at least one flat surface, used to sharpen or hone an edged tool.
  2. A stimulant.
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Whetstone (“benchmark”).

verb

  1. To sharpen with a whetstone.

Origin

From Middle English whestone, whetston, whetesston, from Old English hwetstān, from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjastain (“whetstone”). Equivalent to whet (“to sharpen”) + stone.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)