emerald

[ em-er-uhld, em-ruhld ]
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noun
  1. a rare variety of beryl that is colored green by chromium and valued as a gem.

  1. Printing. (in Britain) a 6½-point type of a size between nonpareil and minion.

  2. Ornithology. any of numerous small bright green hummingbirds of the genus Chlorostilbon.

adjective
  1. having a clear, deep-green color.

Origin of emerald

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English emeraude, emeralde, from Anglo-French, Old French esmeraude, esmeralde, esmeragde, from Latin smaragdus, from Greek smáragdos; probably ultimately from Semitic b-r-q “to shine,” also the ultimate source of Sanskrit marakata “emerald”

Words Nearby emerald

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How to use emerald in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for emerald

emerald

/ (ˈɛmərəld, ˈɛmrəld) /


noun
  1. a green transparent variety of beryl: highly valued as a gem

    • the clear green colour of an emerald

    • (as adjective): an emerald carpet

  1. (formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 6 1/2 point

  2. short for emerald moth

Origin of emerald

1
C13: from Old French esmeraude, from Latin smaragdus, from Greek smaragdos; related to Sanskrit marakata emerald

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for emerald

emerald

[ ĕmər-əld ]


  1. A transparent, green form of the mineral beryl. It is valued as a gem.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.