Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A stone at the corner of a building uniting two intersecting walls; a quoin.
- noun Such a stone, often inscribed, laid at a ceremony marking the origin of a building.
- noun An indispensable and fundamental basis.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A ceremonial stone set at the corner of a building, joining two exterior walls, and often inscribed with the starting and completion dates of construction, the name of the architect and owner, and other details.
- noun By extension, that which is
prominent ,fundamental ,noteworthy , orcentral .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a stone at the outer corner of two intersecting masonry walls
- noun the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
- noun a stone in the exterior of a large and important building; usually carved with a date and laid with appropriate ceremonies
Etymologies
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Examples
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That's what prompted President Roosevelt to launch the Social Security system in 1935, to create what he called the cornerstone of a civilized society.
Remarks By The President On Social Security ITY National Archives 1998
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America and its allies gear up for their big fight of the summer-to extend control over the southern province of Kandahar, which they call the cornerstone of the counterinsurgency campaign-the Taliban have been on a killing spree.
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And that less visibility basically is sort of the right sort of the, what I call the cornerstone of [which drove the] guidance.
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"Safeguarding the livelihood of the people should be the ruling party's long-term cornerstone," Mr. Bo said in a speech late last month.
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We should be fostering faith -- and any attempts to explain our beliefs without that core value as its cornerstone is doomed to fail.
Archive 2006-06-01 Andrew Beckner 2006
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We should be fostering faith -- and any attempts to explain our beliefs without that core value as its cornerstone is doomed to fail.
Knowing The TRUTH Andrew Beckner 2006
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When a bull market returns, the will to transform what some dub the cornerstone of Japan's capitalist system will surely evaporate.
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The cornerstone is to have a MAJORITY of honest cops, first, or it won't work.
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For example, we are installing scrubbers on our coal-fired plant at Belledune, we have passed the Clean Water Act, we have produced a new energy policy, whose cornerstone is efficiency and conservation, and we have introduced the most progressive beverage container legislation in the country.
A National Vision 1991
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"She was known as the cornerstone of the unit," Collins said.
alcedonium commented on the word cornerstone
Dan Savage's definition
May 8, 2009