brownstone
verbEtymology From brown + stone.
1
Historical To scour (steps) with a donkey stone.
brownstone
nounUS /ˈbɹaʊnˌstoʊn/
Etymology From brown + stone.
1
A variety of brown to red-brown sandstone once popular as a building material.
2
A row house built of brownstone, especially in New York City.
- Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto, I’ve lived all over this town.1979, Talking Heads, Life During Wartime:
- Did I mention he lives in a fantastic, expensive-looking brownstone? Did I mention that he’s a published novelist? Did I mention that he’s an involved, attentive father?2014 October 9, James Poniewozik, “Review: The Affair: More Than Meets the "I"”, in Time:
1 more example
- They emerge from the car to face a pair of brownstones, stately narrow things, which seem to have been similarly renovated and decorated.2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 203:
- Derived terms
- brownstoned, brownstoner, Hummelstown brownstone