lodestone Reference library
Garner's Modern English Usage (5 ed.)
... ; ⋆loadstone . The term meaning “something that strongly attracts” is predominantly spelled lodestone in AmE and BrE alike. The spelling ⋆ loadstone vastly predominated throughout the 1700s and 1800s. In the mid-1800s, the word was respelled to make it correlate more strongly with its etymology (fr. the OE lode , meaning “way”) and with its cognate lodestar . During the 1900s, this respelled version surpassed ⋆ loadstone in all varieties of English. Cf. lodestar . Current ratio in print ( lodestone vs. ⋆ loadstone in AmE): 6:1 Current...
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The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (2 ed.)
... , or loadstone , the seaman's name for magnetic oxide of iron. It is said that the ancient Chinese discovered that, when freely suspended, it would point to the north, and therefore used it to form the earliest crude magnetic compass . Recent research suggests that this was not the case, although the Chinese were probably aware that a soft-iron bar, stroked with a lodestone, acquired a directional north–south property. There was, however, a long way to go before mariners were able to harness this directional property to a compass card. Presumably it...
loadstone Reference library
The New Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors (2 ed.)
... Use lodestone...
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The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
... , lodestone magnetic oxide of iron; this used as a magnet. XVI. f. load , LODE + STONE ; lit. ‘way-stone’, so named from the use of the magnet in guiding...
lodestone Reference library
The New Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors (2 ed.)
... (one word; not loadstone...
lodestone Reference library
Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage (4 ed.)
...lodestone . The recommended spelling, not load-....
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The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (2 ed.)
... a piece of magnetite or other naturally magnetized mineral, able to be used as a magnet. Recorded from the early 16th century, the word means literally ‘way-stone’, from the use of the magnet in guiding...
lodestone Quick reference
New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary (2 ed.)
... • flagstone , ragstone • Blackstone , jackstone • sandstone • capstone • hearthstone • headstone • gemstone • whetstone • hailstone • gravestone • freestone , keystone • greenstone • Wheatstone • Tinseltown • ringtone • pitchstone • millstone • whinstone • siltstone • holystone • semitone • stepping stone • coping stone • baritone • acetone • dulcitone • tritone • drystone • milestone • limestone • grindstone , rhinestone • cobblestone • gallstone • brownstone • lodestone • soapstone • duotone • microtone • bluestone • tombstone • ...
lodestone
geomagnetic measurement: techniques and surveys
lodestar
