holy stone, holy-stone, n.
[Origin of name uncertain; in sense 2 perh. for holey stone.]
1. A soft sandstone used by sailors for scouring the decks of ships.
| 1823 in Crabb Technol. Dict. 1837 Old Commodore I. 64 A wet swab and a dry holy-stone will set all to rights. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxii. 66 The decks were..white as snow..from constant use of holystones. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Holy-stone, a sandstone for scrubbing decks, so called from being originally used for Sunday cleaning, or obtained by plundering church-yards of their tombstones, or because the seamen have to go on their knees to use it. 1890 Spectator 5 Apr., I believe you will find the correct spelling to be ‘holey’, the stones used by preference being full of holes, like a sponge, and that any derivations of the name ‘holy’ were simply inventions to account for what sounded a remarkable name. |
2. A stone with a natural hole in it, used as an amulet or charm.
| 1825 Brockett, Holy-stones, holed-stones, are hung over the heads of horses as a charm against diseases. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Holy-stone, a flint or pebble in its natural state with a hole through it, numbers of which are found on our coast. They are also called ‘lucky stones’. |