adder stone

Meaning

Noun

• A stone of varying forms and usually glassy with a naturally formed hole, which is often used as an amulet or bead.

Related

Similar words

• hag stone
• self-bored stone
• serpent's egg
• snake's egg
• snakestone
• witch stone

Origin

• adder + stone. The word is attested since the late 16th century, its earliest use being found in a work by Arthur Golding (c. 1536 – 1606). The perforation was imagined to be made by the sting of an adder.