Link Centre Dictionary

cornerstone

cor·ners·tone

UK/ˈkɔː.nə.stəʊn/ US/ˈkɔɹ.nɚ.stoʊn/ uncommon

noun

1.

the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

  • “the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture”
Synonyms
2.

a stone in the exterior of a large and important building; usually carved with a date and laid with appropriate ceremonies

3.

a stone at the outer corner of two intersecting masonry walls

Origin

From Middle English corner ston; equivalent to corner + stone. The figurative sense is in part after Psalm 118:22, and is also quoted several times in the New Testament.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.