English
holystone
Uncertain, but equivalent to holy + stone.
Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos ‘intact’
…
Proto-Germanic *hailagaz ‘holy’
Proto-West Germanic *hailag ‘holy’
Old English hāleġ ‘holy’
Middle English ali
English holy
Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- ‘to stiffen’
…
Proto-Germanic *stainaz
Proto-West Germanic *stain
Old English stān
Middle English ston ‘a stone’
English stone
The story
As a scouring stone, variously derived from holey, from the amulet, from its association with Sunday cleaning, from its users' adoption of a kneeling position similar to prayer, and (least likely) from their original provision by raiding graveyards for tombstones.
Today it means
noun A piece of soft sandstone used for scouring the wooden decks of ships, usually with sand and seawater.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / holystone