holystone
/ˈhoʊl.i.stoʊn/noun, verb
holystone is spelled H-O-L-Y-S-T-O-N-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 79 million words in written English, the 282,993rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, holystone means “A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of holystone is holystones.
How many letters and syllables are in holystone?
| Letters | 9: H-O-L-Y-S-T-O-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 79 million words; the 282,993rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is holystone?
Holystone appears about once in every 79 million words in written English, the 282,993rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce holystone?
- UK /ˈhəʊl.ɪ.stəʊn/
- US /ˈhoʊl.i.stoʊn/
Holystone has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-holystone.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of holystone
- holystones plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- holystoning participle, present
- holystoned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does holystone mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater.
- 2
A stone with a naturally-formed hole, used by Yorkshiremen for good luck.
verb
- 1
To use a holystone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does holystone come from?
Uncertain, but equivalent to holy + stone. As an amulet, probably from holey (“having a hole”). As a scouring stone, variously derived from holey, from the amulet, from its association with Sunday cleaning, from its users' adoption of a kneeling position similar to prayer, and (least likely) from their original provision by raiding graveyards for tombstones.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).