philosopher's stone

philosophers' stone

noun Alchemy.
a substance sought by alchemists that would be capable of transmuting baser metals into gold or silver and of prolonging life.
Also, philosopher's stone.


Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
philosopher's stone
 
n
a stone or substance thought by alchemists to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10
Philosopher's stone is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

philosopher's stone definition


The stone or material that practitioners of alchemy believed capable of changing other metals into gold.

Note: Figuratively, the “philosopher's stone” is a substance thought to be capable of regenerating man spiritually.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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