Dogberry

Pronounced: DOG-ber-ee (alt DOG-buh-ree), noun

Notes: I didn’t know this word – I blame it on a gap in my education

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Yesterday’s word

The word touchstone is

• a fundamental or quintessential part of feature
• a test or criterion for determining the quality of genuineness of a thing

First usage

Our word came into English in the late 1400s

Background / Comments

I was more familiar with the second definition; the first meaning was new to me: nevertheless, I feel satisfied because the second meaning is closer to the original meaning. Originally a touchstone was a method of testing the purity of a sample of gold: one rubs the sample on a piece of dark quartz or jasper (the touchstone). The mark it made was compared to known rubbings from gold of known purity on the touchstone. Even today, jewelers still use touchstones.