• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “Holystone” come from and What does Holystone mean?

Where does the word “Holystone” come from and What does Holystone mean?

February 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

The term holystone for the soft sandstone formerly used by sailors for scouring the wooden deck of a vessel has led to all sorts of speculation.

Why holy?

One opinion was that holy was just a humorous corruption of holey, the stone being full of holes like a sponge.

Admiral Smythe, in The Sailor’s Word Book (1867), allowed us other choices: “So called,” he said, “from being originally used for Sunday cleaning, or obtained by plundering church-yards of their tomb-stones, or because the seamen have to go on their knees to use it.”

In Naval Customs (1939), by Lt. Comdr. Leland P. Lovette, U.S. Navy (now Vice Admiral, ret.), is the statement that the name came from fragments of gravestones “from Saint Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth, England,” first used by English sailors.

One hesitates to doubt so positive a statement, but, unable to find other mention of a specific churchyard, I sent a letter of inquiry to Admiral Lovette.

His reply, which I am privileged to quote, was, “I don’t think we will ever get the full story.

One British authority, Rear Admiral Gerard Wells, R.N., definitely states: ‘So called because when using them an attitude of prayer is taken.’ You know the larger ones in the British Navy were called ‘hand bibles,’ the smaller ones ‘prayer books.’ I think the fact that all were of tombstone material and many from old tombstones got the word launched.”

Related Facts

  • What does the word "gauntlet" mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
  • What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word "incubus" come from?
  • Where does the word "Toilet" come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
  • What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
  • What Does the Word "Clock" Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
  • Where Did the Word "Limbo" Come From and What Does the Word Mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “Trousers” come from and What does Trousers mean in Irish?
Next Post: How did Green Soap get its name and Where does the term “Green Soap” come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy