English · Idiom Historical

Bologna Stone

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A sulphate of baryta found in masses near Bologna. After being heated, powdered, and exposed to the light it becomes phosphorescent.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

một loại sunfat của bari được tìm thấy gần Bologna

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Mountains & stone Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Bologna Stone” mean?

A sulphate of baryta found in masses near Bologna. After being heated, powdered, and exposed to the light it becomes phosphorescent.

Is “Bologna Stone” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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