Perhaps you were always wondering about the word, Cobblestone? Perhaps not, but here is some “Cobblestone Trivia” for you!
The word cobblestone originates from the 14th century and is a combination of the words cobble and stone , but in Old English was spelled: cobylstone. Wow, that’s a new word even for me!
Cobblestones have been used for paving for more than 500 years. The word cob in Old English was a “rounded lump” . “Cobble” appeared in the 15th century adding the suffix “le” to “cob”, and meant a small stone rounded by the flow of water. It was these smooth “cobbles”, gathered from stream beds, that paved the first “cobblestone” streets.
In many instances they would be worked by hand in order to fit into a pattern or lay correctly on the road…hence the meaning of being ‘cobbled’. Today cobble is a generic geological term for any stone with dimension between 2-1/2 to 10 inches.