Dictionary

gunstone en · NOUN

Etymology

From Middle English gunneston; equivalent to gun + stone: they were originally made from stone.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) A cannonball.
   • [...] sable supporting with the forelegs a lance argent flying therefrom a forked pennon per fess gules and argent. Supporters – Dexter, a sea-horse per fess argent and vert gorged with a mural crown vert pendent therefrom a gunstone[…] 2003, Patrick W. Montague-Smith, Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, page 911:
   • And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his / Hath turn'd his balls to gunstones c. 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, act 1, scene 2:

Forms