touchstone

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated

From touch + stone.

First story published: "Fear," The Touchstone. — The best short stories of 1920, and the yearbook of the American short story, Unknown
There is the touchstone of all philosophy! — Tancred; Or, The New Crusade, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield Disraeli
THE PORTRAIT by Emery Pottle (The Touchstone). — The best short stories of 1917, and the yearbook of the American short story, Unknown

standard, criterion, measure

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