stone
/stoʊn/·스톤·noun
a hard solid piece of mineral
Old EnglishCEFR A1
Root
Proto-Germanic '*stainaz' (stone)
PIE *steyh2- (to thicken) → Proto-Germanic *stainaz → Old English stān → Modern stone
In a word
Old English stān, Germanic *stainaz. A name for what doesn't change — so the word itself barely did. German Stein, Dutch steen, Icelandic steinn — all siblings. The metaphors are just as sturdy: "heart of stone", "stone cold", "sleep like a stone" — not exclusive to English, because stone is a universal unit of comparison. The word held still because what it points at does.
Examples
He picked up a small stone.
The wall is built of stone.
She has a heart of stone.
Related
stonystoneworkcornerstonemilestonegemstone