workstonen.
/ˈwəːkstəʊn/, U.S. /ˈwərkˌstoʊn/ 1. † a. A building stone, esp. one of large size; (as a mass noun) stone suitable for building. Obsolete.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > building stone
wall-stoneOE
workstoneOE
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxviii. 410 He spræc..na to þam weorcstanum, oþþe to þære getimbrunge [of Jerusalem], ac spræc to þam ceastergewarum.
OE Ælfric Gloss. (St. John's Oxf.) 319 Saxum, weorcstan [c1225 Worcester wercston].
1334–5 ( Writ of Edward the Confessor, Ramsey (Sawyer 1110) in F. E. Harmer Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952) 262 To þære forwarde þæt þe abbod & þa gebroðra of Ramesege sculen habben of Sanctus Petrus landare wercstan [L. de lapidibus quadratilibus] æt Bernace, & walstan æt Burh.
1364 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) vii. 122 In 77 damlades 6 dol' pond' de werkstane rugh—damlade ad 8s.
b. A stone with or on which a person works.In quot. 1906: (Printing) = imposing-stone n. at imposing n. 1b.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [noun] > other stone used in industry or construction
ragsa1350
ragstone?c1425
touchstone1482
hardstone1549
tarso1662
weather-stone1686
rumlar1829
ballast1839
bluestone1849
workstone1906
1906 Pract. Printer Nov. 171/1 Printing office work-stones should be cleaned occasionally.
1971 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 75 137/1 The flat workstone..in room 2 was coated with a layer of dark red brown clay through which the streaks made by fingers were clearly visible.
2012 D. L. Nichols & C. A. Pool Oxf. Handbk. Mesoamerican Archaeol. xliiii. 602 An artisan holds a bone tool in one hand and places its tip on a work stone and slowly applies pressure to force small chips off the stone.
2. Metallurgy. A sloping iron plate at the front of a furnace, typically having a groove down which the molten metal flows. Now chiefly historical.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > hearth or floor of furnace > parts of
ash-hole1651
workstone1667
ash-pit1797
sow1843
cinderblock1868
1667 in J. Pettus Fodinæ Regales (1670) 35 Five Hearths with Backs, Cheeks, Workstones, Iron Plates, and other necessaries.
1811 Philos. Mag. Oct. 280 The space between the pan and the work-stone is filled with a mixture of bone and fern ashes well beaten in.
1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 336/2 Extending forwards from the front of the hearth..is an iron plate called the ‘fore-stone’ or ‘work-stone’.
1905 Engin. & Mining Jrnl. 6 July 12/1 The lumps of partially reduced ore, mixed with cinders and slag, are shoveled on to the back of the fire; the slag is drawn out on to the workstone.
1970 C. J. Hunt Lead Miners Northern Pennines v. 101 The liquid lead flowed from the furnace by a gutter across the workstone into a pot, from which it was ladled to form pigs.
2005 G. B. Risse New Med. Challenges during Sc. Enlightenment vi. 202 The red-hot fire melted the whole mass [of lead]..and allowed the lead fragments to gradually coalesce into a paste that was placed on slabs or workstones.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.OE