touchstone
noun
Michael Specter
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Since the early 16th century, touchstone has referred to a particular kind of siliceous stone (that is, stone containing silica) used to do a particular job: determine the purity of precious metals. The process involves comparing marks made by rubbing a sample of a metal of known purity to marks made by a metal of unknown purity. The method is accurate enough in the case of determining the purity of gold that it is still in use today. Figurative use extended from this literal use, with touchstone functioning as a word for a test or criterion to determine the quality of a thing, and later to refer to a fundamental or quintessential part or feature of something.
Examples of touchstone in a Sentence
Nick Romano, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Steve Buffington is an aficionado of curling, a sport that is a touchstone of Canadian culture and has a small band of devotees in Pittsburgh.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
Emotional touchstones Adoptees can go through a mix of emotions upon finding out the information they’ve been told about their background may be false, experts say.
—Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2025
Egg prices therefore remain a key touchstone for consumers gauging the impact of persistent inflation as well as the administration's ability to address it, meaning Trump's triumphant statements could fall on deaf ears if reported declines fail to translate into lower prices on store shelves.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Touchstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/touchstone. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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touchstone
noun
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