sandstone

From Middle English sandston, from Old English *sandstān, itself from Proto-West Germanic *sandastain, meaning "sandstone, chisel, gravel." It's simply a joining of sand and stone.

The word has stayed remarkably close to its roots — a plain compound describing a plain thing, with no real twist along the way.

It shares its Proto-West Germanic root with Dutch zandsteen, German Sandstein, Danish sandsten, Swedish sandsten, and Icelandic sandsteinn — all of them, across centuries and borders, saying the same two-part thing.