touchstone
noun/ˈtʌt͡ʃstəʊn/
Etymology From touch + stone.
1
A stone used to verify the quality of gold alloys by rubbing them in order to leave a visible trace.
2
Broadly, Figuratively A standard of comparison or evaluation.
- Near-synonym: comparator
- The foregoing doctrine affords us also a touchstone for the trial of spirits.1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
4 more examples
- "Expectation of life" is an elastic term: the touchstone here is rather the aggregate amount of work that the locomotive does during its working life.1950 January, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 12:
- Although there has not been very much direct treatment of the Holocaust in analytic moral philosophy, the Nazis appear again and again as examples or touchstones in the construction of moral theories.2002 January, Eve Garrard, “Forgiveness and the Holocaust”, in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, page 147:
- In the print firestorm that followed the publication of the royal couple's letters, the generalissima was one polemical touchstone. The Annotations to The Kings Cabinet Opened itself depicted the queen as an enemy to king and country: […]2012, Ann Baynes Coiro, Thomas Fulton, Rethinking Historicism from Shakespeare to Milton, page 243:
- Brokeback Mountain did take home three Oscars, including a prestigious best director prize for Ang Lee, and remains a beloved gay touchstone.2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC:
- Related terms
- bellwether, benchmark, capstone, cornerstone, exemplar, keystone, model, norm, philosopher's stone, reference, tester