Meanings
plural merestones
- EnglandhistoricalregionalA stone designating a limit or boundary; a boundary stone.First known use 10th c.
The mislayer of a merestone is to blame
1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Judicature”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC1 more example
Past the mere-stones that marked their turf they strode, with grass stems between their teeth and dandelion seed heads in their hair […].
2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 30
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan old term for a landmark that consisted of a pile of stones surmounted by an upright slab
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishmǣrstān“boundary-stone”
- Middle Englishmerestone
- Englishmerestone
From Middle English merestone, merestane, from Old English mǣrstān (“boundary-stone”), equivalent to mere (“boundary”) + stone.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
merestone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merestone
“merestone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merestone. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “merestone,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merestone.
Source: merestone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.