foundation stone
Building's first block
A foundation stone is a ceremonial block laid to mark the beginning of a building's construction, often inscribed with the date and dignitaries' names: The mayor laid the foundation stone for the new library.
Figuratively, a foundation stone is any fundamental element on which something larger is built: Free speech is a foundation stone of democracy.
Building with mortared blocks
- quoinAngled masonry block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- footingSecure ground position
- plinthArchitectural support block
base · edifice · construction · brickwork · mortar · granite · marble · limestone
Upright architectural support
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- anchorSecures ships to seabed
- linchpinVital securing element
- touchstoneStandard for evaluation
mainstay · benchmark · keystone · basis · fundamental · principle · tenet · origin
Putting down horizontally
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
- commemorationAct of honoring memory
ceremony · plaque · time capsule · ribbon cutting · blessing · unveiling · dignitary · trowel
Founding moment
- commencementAct of starting
- outsetInitial point of something
- dawnDay's first glow
- launchSet into motion
birth · emergence · inauguration · genesis · origin · initiation · establishment · nascent
masonry
Building with mortared blocks
plinth · base · edifice · construction · brickwork · mortar · granite · marble · limestone · loadbearing
pillar
Upright architectural support
touchstone · mainstay · benchmark · keystone · basis · fundamental · principle · tenet · origin · root
laying
Putting down horizontally
- dedicationWholehearted loyalty to purpose
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
commemoration · ceremony · plaque · time capsule · ribbon cutting · blessing · unveiling · dignitary · trowel · mortar
inception
Founding moment
- commencementAct of starting
- outsetInitial point of something
- dawnDay's first glow
launch · birth · emergence · inauguration · genesis · origin · initiation · establishment · nascent · embryonic
- building stoneashlar, bluestone, brownstone, cobblestone, fieldstone
- founding ceremonyribbon cutting, groundbreaking, dedication, unveiling, opening remarks
- Assyrian artifactswinged bull, winged lion, cuneiform tablet, stele, guardian spirit
- stone monumentsobelisk, monolith, menhir, dolmen, stele
- ancient artifactsjade mask, Viking sword, bronze sculptures, antiquities, Roman coin
- beginningsbegin, beginning, start, first, opening
foundation stonecapstone
Topmost stone of structure
finishing touch · crowning achievement · ribbon cutting · closing ceremony · culmination
stone, foundation, founder, cornerstone, founding, foundations, founded, founders, unfounded