brownstone

English

Etymology

From brown +‎ stone.

Pronunciation

Noun

brownstone (countable and uncountable, plural brownstones)

  1. (uncountable) A variety of brown to red-brown sandstone once popular as a building material.
  2. (countable) A row house built of brownstone, especially in New York City.
    • 1979, Talking Heads, Life During Wartime:
      Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto, I’ve lived all over this town.
    • 2014 October 9, James Poniewozik, “Review: The Affair: More Than Meets the "I"”, in Time[1]:
      Did I mention he lives in a fantastic, expensive-looking brownstone? Did I mention that he’s a published novelist? Did I mention that he’s an involved, attentive father?
    • 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 203:
      They emerge from the car to face a pair of brownstones, stately narrow things, which seem to have been similarly renovated and decorated.

Derived terms

Translations

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Verb

brownstone (third-person singular simple present brownstones, present participle brownstoning, simple past and past participle brownstoned)

  1. (transitive, historical) To scour (steps) with a donkey stone.
    Coordinate term: whitestone

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