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A lodestone (or loadstone) is a magnet: something with a strong power to attract. The word literally means "way stone" because lodestones were used to make sailors' compasses that, of course, showed the way.
Recently we saw "lode" in another word. But instead of suggesting guidance through magnetism, this "lode-" word suggests guidance through light. Can you recall it?
make your point with...
"LODESTONE"
A literal lodestone (or a loadstone) is a magnet. Figuratively, it's something that powerfully attracts people toward it.
Pronunciation:
LODE stone
Part of speech:
Countable noun.
(Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions."
Likewise, talk about one loadstone or multiple loadstones.)
Other forms:
Just the alternate spelling, "loadstone." I'm sticking to "lodestone" because it's more common.
How to use it:
Call something a lodestone when it seems to attract people to it naturally and powerfully.
Often we follow this word with of or for: you might say something is the lodestone of attention, the lodestone of people's hearts; a lodestone for his art, a lodestone for her work, a lodestone for the plot, a lodestone for our careers, a lodestone for much-needed discussion, a lodestone for our sense of identity as a nation.
Or, say that something draws you in like a lodestone, pulls you in like a lodestone, attracts your attention like a lodestone, etc.
examples:
We worried that she was letting her directionless boyfriend become the lodestone of her life.
As a kid, I had an intense but misguided passion for learning big words: to show off by using the longest words possible was the lodestone of the whole endeavor then.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "lodestone" means when you can explain it without saying "goal" or "enticement."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(A certain place) is a lodestone for (people with a certain interest)."
Example: "Coconut Island is a lodestone for yogis and meditators."
before you review:
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is called "Cousins or Strangers?"
Consider two pairs of similar-looking words, and figure out which pair are truly related, like cousins, and which pair are unrelated, like strangers. "Related," of course, is a relative concept (ha ha). We're interested in closeness: "compute" and "computer" are sisters, or variations of the same word; "vision" and "video" are cousins, sharing the same Latin root; but "compute" and "video" are strangers.
From our previous issue:
Pair A: POLITE and POLITICAL. These are the strangers. Trace these as far back as you can, and you see that we got "polite" from the Latin for "polish" (polire) but that we got "political" from the Greek for "city" (polis).
Pair B: ORIENTAL and ORIENTATION. These are the cousins; they both come from the Latin orientem, "the east" or "the rising sun." Only since 1868 has "orientation" meant "the process of getting your bearings," and only since 1942 has it meant "the process of getting introduced to a situation."
Ready to check out two more pairs? Remember, one pair will be cousins; the other, strangers. Which is which?
Pair A: INVEST and INVESTIGATE
Pair B: OVAL and OVARY
review today's word:
1. The opposite of LODESTONE is
A. REPELLENT
B. EXPONENT
C. INSTINCT
2. For him, Hanover had all the charm of a small town and therefore all the _____ of a lodestone.
A. allure
B. beauty
C. cachet
Answers are below.
a final word:
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. A
2. A
A lodestone (or loadstone) is a magnet: something with a strong power to attract. The word literally means "way stone" because lodestones were used to make sailors' compasses that, of course, showed the way.
"LODESTONE" A literal lodestone (or a loadstone) is a magnet. Figuratively, it's something that powerfully attracts people toward it. Part of speech:
We worried that she was letting her directionless boyfriend become the lodestone of her life.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "lodestone" means when you can explain it without saying "goal" or "enticement."
Fill in the blanks: "(A certain place) is a lodestone for (people with a certain interest)."
Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The opposite of LODESTONE is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
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