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cornerstone

[kawr-ner-stohn]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun

a stone uniting two masonry walls at an intersection.

a stone representing the nominal starting place in the construction of a monumental building, usually carved with the date and laid with appropriate ceremonies.

something that is essential, indispensable, or basic: The cornerstone of democratic government is a free press.

the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed: The cornerstone of his argument was that all people are created equal.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English; see corner, stone

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Cornerstone is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Example Sentences

The present building had its cornerstone laid just.

Aalto's creation is a cornerstone of a new national higher-education strategy.

The universality of free-fall, a concept formally known as the weak equivalence principle, is a cornerstone of modern physics.

EXPAND

The present building had its cornerstone laid just.

Aalto's creation is a cornerstone of a new national higher-education strategy.

The universality of free-fall, a concept formally known as the weak equivalence principle, is a cornerstone of modern physics.

Shaping the land to serve human needs is a cornerstone of civilization.

The cornerstone of the success achieved by ice core scientists reconstructing climate.

The building has always been considered the cornerstone of our downtown.

Before long, kin selection was a cornerstone of evolutionary biology.

Patrick's cornerstone wondered whether the family story was true.

University research and education are increasingly the cornerstone for the progress of mankind.

Yet the cornerstone of his mission remains battling waterborne disease through improved sanitation and access to clean water.

The emergence of land-going vertebrates was a cornerstone event in the evolution of life on earth.

Capitol, the small neighborhood became a cornerstone of the city.

The cornerstone of this conversion is a diesel engine.

Pataki will instead preside as a cornerstone is laid.

Japan has long made incremental improvement the cornerstone of technical advancement.

Composting is a cornerstone of organic gardening and agriculture, and it provides many environmental benefits.

Accurate diagnosis is the cornerstone of medical care.

It's worth emphasizing here that humane treatment of prisoners is considered a cornerstone of effective counterinsurgency.

To many food lovers, sushi has become a near religion, and a cornerstone of the faith is that the fish is extraordinarily fresh.

Merrill is seen as a cornerstone of a strategic push into new markets.

Empathy is a cornerstone of human behavior and has long been considered innate.

Imitation and re-interpretation is a cornerstone of art.

Prevention has always been a cornerstone of pediatrics, more so than in almost any other medical specialty.

We think that this level of transparency should be the cornerstone of customer trust for every cloud service.

Walleye pollock, the cornerstone of the state's fishing industry, are moving north as temperatures rise.

But they're a cornerstone of the surveillance society, and they've proved an important weapon in law enforcement's arsenal.

Others are fighting to rescue a time capsule embedded in the cornerstone.

That's why he prizes stability and economic development as his cornerstone.

Indeed, the efficiency of a random market was the cornerstone of modern economic theory.

He was a brilliant, witty but confident cornerstone of our family.

Computers are the cornerstone supporting the past and the prime contributors to all new technologies and knowledge creation.

Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

Mendel's basic concepts remain the cornerstone of genetics.

Marilyn was the cornerstone of the family, and provided a warm and welcome haven to all those she held dear.

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of establishing democracy.

Professional and personal integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.

Cornerstone will also promote the song to radio stations.

The right to a free press is a cornerstone of democracy.

They form the cornerstone of modern evidence-based medicine.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

cornerstone (ˈkɔːnəˌstəʊn)

—n
1.	a stone at the corner of a wall, uniting two intersecting walls; quoin
2.	a stone placed at the corner of a building during a ceremony to mark the start of construction
3.	a person or thing of prime importance; basis: the cornerstone of the whole argument

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cornerstone

c.1300, from corner + stone. The figurative use is older in English than the literal (late 14c.).

EXPAND

"I endorse without reserve the much abused sentiment of Governor M'Duffie, that "Slavery is the corner-stone of our republican edifice;" while I repudiate, as ridiculously absurd, that much lauded but nowhere accredited dogma of Mr. Jefferson, that "all men are born equal." No society has ever yet existed, and I have already incidentally quoted the highest authority to show that none ever will exist, without a natural variety of classes." [James H. Hammond, "Letter to an English Abolitionist" 1845]

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Related Words

foundation stone quoin

quoin

Matching Quote

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?"

-unknown author

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cornerstone

cor·ner·stone