opal

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“
Mine, naturally, was the least expensive; it was an opal ring--the opal was my favourite stone, because it seems to blush and turn pale as if it had a soul.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A mineral of hydrated silica.
  2. noun A gemstone made of this mineral, noted for its rich iridescence.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • “The hues of the opal, the light of the diamond, are not to be seen if the eye is too near.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson, 21st Century Dictionary of Quotations, edited by the Princeton Language Institute, 1993.
  • There was a second -- opal coloured and fleecy -- at a great height above my head, a white unbroken ceiling above, and a dark unbroken floor below, with the monoplane labouring upwards upon a vast spiral between them. —  The Disintegration Machine and Other Stories
  • She looked at the small opal, and her eyes were feverish. —  SUMMER 1952
  • You wouldn't call a diamond a semi-opal, or dawn a semi-day, so why are gemstones called semi-precious? —  process 10
  • Boulder opal is a big favorite of the Minx, and she uses it frequently. —  BeanRocket Blog Communities Lastest Posts
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Words tagged opal

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English opalus, from Latin, alteration of Greek opallios, probably from Sanskrit upalaḥ, from variant of upara-, lower, from upa, below; see upo in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = Dutch opaal = G. Danish Swedish opal, from French opale = Spanish ópalo = Portuguese Italian opalo (also, after the F. form, Portuguese opala = Italian opale), from Latin opalus, from Greek ὀπάλλιος, an opal; cf. Sanskrit upala, a precious stone.
 

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/ˈoʊpəl/
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