# stony
## English
### Alternative forms

* stoney (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English stony, stoni, stani, from Old English stāniġ, stǣniġ (“stony, rocky”), from Proto-Germanic *stainagaz (“stony”), equivalent to stone +‎ -y. Cognate with Scots stany (“stony”), West Frisian stienich (“stony”), Dutch stenig (“stony, metalled”), German steinig (“stony, rocky, gravelly”), Swedish stenig (“stony, rocky, pebbly”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈstəʊni/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈstoʊni/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -əʊni

### Adjective

stony (comparative stonier, superlative stoniest)
* As hard as stone.
    Synonym: rock hard
    Antonym: soft
* Containing or made up of stones.
    Synonyms: pebbly, rocky, shingly
    a stony path
** 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 443:The track was stony with a grassy camber up the middle.
* (figuratively) Of a person, lacking warmth and emotion.
    Synonyms: cold, cool, hardhearted, heartless, impassive, unemotional, unfeeling; see also Thesaurus:stern
    Antonyms: passionate, warm
** 2012 March 19, David Denby, “Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca” on the Big Screen”, in The New Yorker‎:When Victor Laszlo leads the demoralized French in the “Marseilles,” and even Yvonne, the chippy who is sleeping with a Nazi officer, joins in, the stoniest intellectual collapses in tears.
* (figuratively) Of an action or expression such as a look, showing no warmth of emotion.
    Synonyms: cold, cool, frosty, unwelcoming
    Antonyms: welcoming, warm
    She gave him a stony reception.
** 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 264:o’er the heaps of dead, / Whose stony eyes glared in the morning light, / I trod; […]
** 1977 April 9, “Mailer Mauls "Perverts"”, in Gay Community News, page 2:The Oscar-thrilled audience reacted to Mailer's attempt at humor in stony silence.
* (UK and Australia, slang) Short for stony broke: without any money.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:impoverished
** 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:Seriously, Dedalus. I’m stony. Hurry out to your school kip and bring us back some money.

#### Derived terms

* fall on stony ground
* stonily
* stoniness
* stony-broke
* stony coral
* stony-faced
* stonyhearted
* stony iron
* stony-iron
* Stony Stratford

#### Translations
### References

* “stony, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1917.

### Anagrams

* Tonys, Tyson, synto

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* stani, staniȝ, stany, stoni, stonye

### Etymology

Inherited from Old English stāniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *stainag, from Proto-Germanic *stainagaz; equivalent to ston +‎ -y.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈstɔːniː/

### Adjective

stony
* Comprised or composed of stone or rock
* Made or built of stone or rock
* Covered in stones or pebbles
* Inhabiting a stony environment
* (figurative) emotionless; stolid
* (medicine) hard, solid

#### Descendants

* English: stony
* Scots: stany

#### References

* “stōnī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-10.