Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A crown worn as a sign of royalty.
- n. Royal power or dignity.
- v. To adorn with or as if with a diadem.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Anciently, a head-band or fillet worn by kings as a badge of royalty. It was made of silk, linen, or wool, and encircled the temples and forehead, the ends being tied behind, so as to fall on the neck. It was originally white and plain, but was later embroidered with gold or set with pearls or precious stones, and little by little increased in richness until it was developed into the modern crown.
- n. Anything worn on the head as a mark or badge of royalty; a crown.
- n. Figuratively, supreme power; sovereignty.
- n. In heraldry, one of the arches which rise from the rim or circle of a crown, and support the mound or globe at the top.
- n. In zoology, a certain monkey, Cercopithecus diadematus.
- To adorn with or as if with a diadem; crown.
- n. In embryology, a term applied to certain eggs in the blastula stage.
Wiktionary
- n. An ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty.
- n. A crown.
- n. Regal power; sovereignty; empire—considered as symbolized by the crown.
- v. To adorn with a diadem; to crown.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Originally, an ornamental head band or fillet, worn by Eastern monarchs as a badge of royalty; hence (later), also, a crown, in general.
- n. Regal power; sovereignty; empire; -- considered as symbolized by the crown.
- n. (Her.) An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also of a coronet), and uniting with others over its center.
- v. To adorn with a diadem; to crown.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek διάδημα (diadema, "band, especially worn around a tiara"), from διαδέω (diadeo, "bind around"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English diademe, from Old French, from Latin diadēma, from Greek, band, from diadein, to bind around : dia-, dia- + dein, dē-, to bind. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Every land illuminated by thy diadem is encircled by thy might; and in all the zone of the heavens there is not a rebel to rise up against thee.”
“Let us rather go out to meet it gallantly: or perhaps -- for all this pendulous orb, this fair gem in the sky's diadem, is not surely plague-striken -- perhaps, in some secluded nook, amidst eternal spring, and waving trees, and purling streams, we may find Life.”
“Imperial diadem from the representatives of Gaul; and his election was ratified by the acclamations of the Barbarians and provincials.”
“In the height of his prosperity, the victorious monarch, who had chastised the rashness of Gallus, and suppressed the revolt of Sylvanus, who had taken the diadem from the head of Vetranio, and vanquished in the field the legions of Magnentius, received from an invisible hand a wound, which he could neither heal nor revenge; and the son of”
“The crown, known as a diadem, contained a special carving at its uppermost point.”
“Then, I saw that upon the crest of the diadem was a single great diamond wonderfully chiselled to represent a bat with outspread wings, the device upon the banners of the mystic realm.”
“A joy that has gone from us for ever is a jewel that trembles like a tear on Sorrow's breast, but the brightest stars in her diadem are the memories of hopes that have passed away unrealised and untold.”
“You see, her diadem is a wreath of them; but the blossoms of it are not fastening enough for her hair, though it is not long yet -- (she is only in reality a Florentine girl of fourteen or fifteen) -- so the little darling knots it under her ears, and then makes herself a necklace of it.”
“Plotina, the consort of Trajan; she wears the imperial diadem, which is here composed of precious stones cut into facets.”
“The diadem was a mark of royal rank among the Asiatic nations.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘diadem’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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[Open] “What’s that on your head?”
Headgear: “anything worn on the head” (that isn’t part of the head). Hats are fine, but for a more detailed, wider selection of fashionable hats in all colors and sizes, please see Reese Tee’s li...
goggles, wig, headdress, cap, hackamore, halter, bridle, beanie, turban, hat, crown, chapeau and 126 more...
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Figuratively
Words with definitions containing "figuratively."
spore, plunge, fulminate, rasp, hinge, niche, breathe, approach, hammer, rain, butcher, dazzle and 132 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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New Words
idiopathic, quidditas, cloacal, peregrination, cyclamen, expatiate, pedantic, salonniere, manque, pelagic, exogenous, pellucid and 83 more...
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names of hats
liripipe, cowl, capuchon, liripipium, snood, bonnet, toque, turban, poke, toboggan-cap, crown, fedora and 72 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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the most beautiful
velvet, wainwright, susurrous, nutmeg, pegasus, tintinnabular, gossamer, lyricism, rococo, townlet, prince, nymph and 139 more...
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hats and headgear
Everything hats,things with hoods,hoods,scarves,crowns,useful
adjectival forms,hat expressions,
alternate spellingsbabushka, balaclava, bamoral, baseball cap, beanie, bearskin, beaver hat, beret, billycock, biretta, boater, bobble hat and 422 more...
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new words!
errata, corrigenda, lacuna, inculcate, chiaroscuro, temerity, folderol, juggernaut, diadem, alacrity, exegesis, portmanteau and 97 more...
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everythingecstatic's Words
cadence, frenetic, eloquence, paradigm, nocturne, elusive, effervescence, soliloquy, plethora, elision, aqueous, transcend and 166 more...
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word list!!!!
lagniappe
syzygy, bloviate, lagniappe, laconic, condign, umbrage, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious, capitulate, glower, repast and 179 more...
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beatricks's Words
tremendous, naiad, thrush, samsara, thronging, nascent, broom, aristeia, streak, susurrant, reverberate, resistentialism and 352 more...
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traipsin' 'long through dis 'ear book...
Words which are either entirely new to me or;
Words which I comprehend generally but would prefer a more precise definition.
venality, seigneurial, mendicant, perforce, manse, glebe, trenchant, saw, obstreperous, profligate, dissipation, galliard and 176 more...
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tranquill's Words
loquacious, unmitigated, trundle, ephemeral, vociferous, trapezoidal, liminal, obsequious, veracity, squash, onomatopoeia, oscillate and 267 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for diadem.
lexicant Transitive verb?? The archbishop DIADEMED the crown prince? Jun 27, 2009
uselessness I always thought this was a jewel-encrusted weapon. Apr 2, 2007
seanmeade 'bring forth the royal diadem' Apr 2, 2007