opal
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[1], 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
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Further reading
- David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Opal”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
- “opal”, in Mindat.org[2], 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
Derived terms
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)
Declension
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Byzantine Greek
- English terms derived from Sanskrit
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/əʊpəl
- Rhymes:English/əʊpəl/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Minerals
- English terms with quotations
- en:Biology
- en:Genetics
- en:Biochemistry
- en:Birthstones
- en:Gems
- en:Gossamer-winged butterflies
- Cebuano terms derived from English
- Cebuano terms derived from French
- Cebuano terms derived from Latin
- Cebuano terms derived from Byzantine Greek
- Cebuano terms derived from Sanskrit
- Cebuano lemmas
- Cebuano nouns
- ceb:Minerals
- ceb:Birthstones
- ceb:Gems
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɔpal
- Rhymes:Polish/ɔpal/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Mineralogy
- Polish non-lemma forms
- Polish verb forms
- Romanian terms borrowed from German
- Romanian terms derived from German
- Romanian terms borrowed from Latin
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns
- ro:Mineralogy