beryl

¹

[ ber-uhl ]

noun

1. a mineral, beryllium aluminum silicate, Be 3 Al 2 Si 6 O 18 , usually green, but also blue, rose, white, and golden, and both opaque and transparent, the latter variety including the gems emerald and aquamarine: the principal ore of beryllium.

Beryl

²

[ ber-il ]

noun

1. a first name.

beryl

/ ˈbɛrɪl /

noun

1. a white, blue, yellow, green, or pink mineral, found in coarse granites and igneous rocks. It is a source of beryllium and is sometimes used as a gemstone; the green variety is emerald, the blue is aquamarine. Composition: beryllium aluminium silicate. Formula: Be 3 Al 2 Si 6 O 18 . Crystal structure: hexagonal

beryl

/ bĕr′əl /

1. A usually green or bluish-green hexagonal mineral occurring as transparent to translucent prisms in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Transparent varieties, such as emeralds and aquamarine, are valued as gems. Beryl is the main source of the element beryllium. Chemical formula: Be 3 Al 2 Si 6 O 18 .

Derived Forms

• ˈberyline, adjective

Other Word Forms

• ber·yl·ine [ber, -, uh, -lin, -lahyn], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of beryl¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English beril, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin bērillus, from Latin bēryllus, from Greek bḗryllos, bērýllion, from Prakrit veruḷiya (compare Sanskrit vaiḍūrya ), from Pali veḷuriya, originally referring to white beryl or quartz, of uncertain Dravidian origin, perhaps after Belur, Karnataka, where the mineral was mined (akin to Kannada biḷi “white” + ūru “habitation, town”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of beryl¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin bēryllus , from Greek bērullos , of Indic origin

Example Sentences

The emerald, Brazilian authorities say, was discovered in a beryl mine in the country in 2001 and later smuggled to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

If the quartz can’t scratch the specimen, it might be beryl or corundum, which are harder than quartz.

From Scientific American

One of the mightiest of the stones on display at the museum is a four-foot-tall, 7,756-pound hunk of grayish-green rock called beryl, from which come emeralds as well as beryllium.

From New York Times

Oxford County, they learned, was a mining center famous for its tourmaline, quartz and beryl.

From New York Times

The Massachusetts couple became interested in the local mining history and bought a tract that included the Bumpus Mine, which had produced feldspar and the gemstone beryl.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• blue-green
• olive