stony

See also: Stony

English

Alternative forms

• stoney (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English stony, stoni, stani, from Old English stāniġ, stǣniġ (“stony, rocky”), from Proto-Germanic *stainagaz (“stony”), equivalent to stone +‎ -y. Cognate with Scots stany (“stony”), West Frisian stienich (“stony”), Dutch stenig (“stony, metalled”), German steinig (“stony, rocky, gravelly”), Swedish stenig (“stony, rocky, pebbly”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈstəʊni/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstoʊni/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊni

Adjective

stony (comparative stonier, superlative stoniest)

1. As hard as stone.

   Synonym: rock-hard

   Antonym: soft

2. Containing or made up of stones.

   Synonyms: pebbly, rocky, shingly

   a stony path

   • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 443:

     The track was stony with a grassy camber up the middle.

3. (figuratively) Of a person, lacking warmth and emotion.

   Synonyms: cold, cool, hard-hearted, heartless, impassive, unemotional, unfeeling

   Antonyms: passionate, warm

   • 2012 March 19, David Denby, “Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca” on the Big Screen”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

     When Victor Laszlo leads the demoralized French in the “Marseilles^{[sic – meaning Marseillaise]},” and even Yvonne, the chippy who is sleeping with a Nazi officer, joins in, the stoniest intellectual collapses in tears.

4. (figuratively) Of an action or expression such as a look, showing no warmth of emotion.

   Synonyms: cold, cool, frosty, unwelcoming

   Antonyms: welcoming, warm

   She gave him a stony reception.

   • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 264:

     o’er the heaps of dead, / Whose stony eyes glared in the morning light, / I trod; […]

   • 1977 April 9, “Mailer Mauls "Perverts"”, in Gay Community News, page 2:

     The Oscar-thrilled audience reacted to Mailer's attempt at humor in stony silence.

5. (UK and Australia, slang) Short for stony broke: without any money.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:impoverished

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Seriously, Dedalus. I’m stony. Hurry out to your school kip and bring us back some money.

Derived terms

• fall on stony ground
• stonily
• stoniness
• stony-broke
• stony coral
• stony-faced
• stonyhearted
• stony iron
• stony-iron
• Stony Stratford

 

Translations

hard as stone

• Finnish: kivikova (fi)
• Galician: pétreo (gl) m
• Latin: lapideus
• Persian: سنگی (fa) (sangi)
• Polish: kamienny (pl) m

containing stones

• Bulgarian: каменист (bg) (kamenist)
• Danish: stenet
• Finnish: kivinen (fi), kallioinen (fi)
• German: steinern (de)
• Gothic: 𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌷𐍃 (stainahs)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πετρώδης (petrṓdēs)

• Hungarian: köves (hu)
• Icelandic: grýttur
• Latin: saxōsus, lapidosus
• Luxembourgish: stengeg
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: steinete

  Nynorsk: steinete

• Old Norse: grjót
• Persian: سنگدار (sangdâr)
• Polish: kamienisty (pl) m
• Portuguese: pedroso m
• Swedish: stenig (sv)

of a person

• Bulgarian: хладен (bg) (hladen), безразличен (bg) (bezrazličen)
• French: froid (fr), sec (fr)
• Galician: frío (gl) m
• Persian: سنگدل (fa) (sangdel)

of an action

• Galician: duro (gl) m

broke — see broke

References

• “stony, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1917.

Anagrams

• Tonys, Tyson, synto

Middle English

Alternative forms

• stani, staniȝ, stany, stoni, stonye

Etymology

Inherited from Old English stāniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *stainag, from Proto-Germanic *stainagaz; equivalent to ston +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɔːniː/

Adjective

stony

1. Comprised or composed of stone or rock
2. Made or built of stone or rock
3. Covered in stones or pebbles
4. Inhabiting a stony environment
5. (figurative) emotionless; stolid
6. (medicine) hard, solid

Descendants

• English: stony
• Scots: stany

References

• “stōnī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-10.