touchstone

Definitions

touch + stone. Literally a dark stone jewelers once used: rubbing gold against it left a streak whose color revealed the metal's purity — you "touched" the stone to test quality. The word became a metaphor for any standard you measure things against: a touchstone of good design.

Why It Means This

A genuine old word, not a modern coinage. The original touchstone was a real tool — a piece of fine-grained dark stone (often jasper). You rubbed a gold item across it and read the purity from the streak. Because it literally tested true quality by touch, "touchstone" became the standard English metaphor for any test of authenticity or excellence.

Common Collocations

• 1.cultural touchstone文化标杆
• 2.serve as a touchstone充当试金石
• 3.touchstone for……的检验标准
• 4.moral touchstone道德准绳

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Customer trust became the touchstone for every decision.

• 2.

  The novel remains a cultural touchstone for that generation.