Limestone
nounA common sedimentary rock made mostly of calcium carbonate, used in building and in making cement and lime.
How to spell limestone
9 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce limestone
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does limestone mean?
- nounA common sedimentary rock made mostly of calcium carbonate, used in building and in making cement and lime.
Limestone in a sentence
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The old cathedral was built from blocks of pale limestone.
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Rainwater slowly dissolves limestone to form caves and sinkholes.
Where does limestone come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This is a transparent native English compound, formed from 'lime' and 'stone'. The 'lime' element comes from Old English 'lim', which meant a sticky substance such as birdlime or cement, and it is related to Latin 'limus' meaning 'mud' or 'slime'; over time it came to name the calcium compound burned from certain rocks for use in mortar and plaster. The 'stone' element is the ordinary Old English 'stan', a piece of hard mineral matter, shared with German 'Stein' and Dutch 'steen'. Joined together, 'limestone' simply names the rock from which lime is produced by burning. The compound is recorded from the late medieval period and describes a sedimentary rock made largely of calcium carbonate. Because both halves are everyday English words, the spelling is logical once you see it as lime plus stone.
How the word is built
- lime (calcium-rich mineral)
- stone (rock)
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