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Glite Dictionary
mearstone

mearstone

9.9
A pile of stones with a standing stone on top that marks a land border
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪə.stəʊn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : piedra de linde
  • Surveyors recorded the position of each mearstone along the parish border.

Examples

  • The farm's boundary was once marked by an ancient mearstone in the meadow.

  • In the old maps, every mearstone is carefully noted as a key landmark.

  • The old mearstone stood tall at the edge of the field.

  • We found a mearstone during our hike in the woods.

  • Surveyors recorded the position of each mearstone along the parish border.

  • The farm's boundary was once marked by an ancient mearstone in the meadow.

  • In the old maps, every mearstone is carefully noted as a key landmark.

Synonyms

stela
vsmearstone
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A tall stone with writing that honors a person or event from long ago

focuses on a pile topped by an upright slab rather than only a single upright slab
meerestone
vsmearstone
  • Archaic
9.9

A pile of stones with a standing stone that marks a boundary

has identical meaning but appears with a different spelling in sources
merestone
vsmearstone
  • Archaic
9.9

A pile of stones topped by a standing stone that marks the edge of land

shares identical meaning but is noted as older usage rather than modern

Surface Forms

mearstone singular
mearstones plural

Morphology

mearstone = mear + stone (semi-transparent) = mear + stone

Formally a compound 'mear' + 'stone' whose meaning ('boundary stone') follows regular compounding, but 'mear' is archaic/unfamiliar to most learners so the meaning is not fully obvious.

Etymology

Mearstone comes from the old English part mear meaning 'boundary' and the simple word stone. So a mearstone is literally a 'boundary stone', a pile or upright slab of stone set to mark the border.