opal
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Banded opal, a variety of opal (1)
English
Etymology
In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”).[1] Distantly related to over.
Pronunciation
Noun
opal (plural opals)
- (mineralogy) A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O.
- (gemology) A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
- 2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 June 2012, page 128:
- Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
- (biology, genetics, biochemistry) A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
- Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.
Derived terms
Translations
a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity
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Further reading
- David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Opal”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
- “opal”, in Mindat.org, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.
- ^ Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, Robert K. Barnhart (ed.), Chambers, 1988
Anagrams
Cebuano
Etymology
From English opal, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”).
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: o‧pal
Noun
opal
Polish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
opal m inan
Declension
Declension of opal
Derived terms
adjective
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
opal
Further reading
- opal in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- opal in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from German Opal or Latin opalus or French opale.
Noun
opal n (plural opale)