lodestone

[lohd-stohn] Origin

lode·stone

[lohd-stohn]
noun
1.
a variety of magnetite that possesses magnetic polarity and attracts iron.
2.
a piece of this serving as a magnet.
3.
something that attracts strongly.


Origin:
1505–15; lode (in obsolete sense “way, course”) + stone
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Lodestone is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Collins
World English Dictionary
lodestone or loadstone (ˈləʊdˌstəʊn)
 
n
1.  a.  a rock that consists of pure or nearly pure magnetite and thus is naturally magnetic
 b.  a piece of such rock, which can be used as a magnet and which was formerly used as a primitive compass
2.  a person or thing regarded as a focus of attraction
 
[C16: literally: guiding stone]
 
loadstone or loadstone
 
n
 
[C16: literally: guiding stone]

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

lodestone
"magnetic oxide of iron," 1510s, from lode + stone. So called because it was used as a magnet to guide mariners.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
lodestone also loadstone   (lōd'stōn')  Pronunciation Key 
A piece of the mineral magnetite that acts like a magnet.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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