Dictionary

stone-still en · ADJ · etymology 1

Etymology

From Middle English stone-stille, stonstyll, stonstyl, stane still, equivalent to stone + still (adjective).

Meanings

1. As still as a stone; perfectly still or silent; motionless
   • She lay / Stone-still, and the long darkness flow’d away / With muffled pulses. 1862, George Meredith, Modern Love (sonnet I):
   • She lay stone-still in a trance of terror. 1859, George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel:
   • She remained stone-still, ready for anything, sending her heightened senses in search of who or what was encroaching on her personal space. 2015, Sara Humphreys, Vampires Never Cry Wolf:
   • Sekander stared out of the window with a stone-still face. 2011, Suraya Sadeed, Damien Lewis, Forbidden Lessons in a Kabul Guesthouse:
   • Alas, what need you be so boisterous-rough? / I will not struggle, I will stand stone-still. / For heaven sake, Hubert, let me not be bound! written 1594-96, William Shakespeare, King John :

Forms

stone-still en · ADV · etymology 2

Etymology

From Middle English ston-stille, stone-stille, stonstil, stane-still, equivalent to stone + still (adverb).

Meanings

1. In a stone-still manner
   • Around 6:00 A.M., after an entire night of abuse, the omega walked to the ridge and stood stone-still. 2011, Jean Craighead George, How to Talk to Your Animals:

Forms

Relateds

stone-cold