topaz

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The most important aspect when examining a topaz is the lack of impurities.

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. noun A colorless, blue, yellow, brown, or pink aluminum silicate mineral, often found in association with granitic rocks and valued as a gemstone, especially in the brown and pink varieties.
  2. noun Any of various yellow gemstones, especially a yellow variety of sapphire or corundum.
  3. noun A light yellow variety of quartz.
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Examples (50)

  • She fixed him with her eyes which matched the topaz, and screeched wordlessly like a mad bird of prey. —  Tanith_Lee_-_The_Silver_Metal_Lover3
  • With golden hair and eyes the color of topaz, all the men had broad noses and were tall and muscled. —  Yasmine Galenorn - [Sisters of the Moon 2] - Changeling
  • The colors are magic: a field of black lit with topaz, against which human figure and sprays of wildflowers glow in uncompromising light. —  Maguire, Gregory - Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - UC [.html].htm
  • Their eyes were topaz, and their breath smelled of fresh meat and of blood. —  Smoke and Mirrors, by Neil Gaiman.
  • Measured on a scale of 1 - 10 with diamonds being at the very top, the topaz is still considered a hardy and durable gemstone that is hard to damage in the course of normal wear and care. —  Find Free Articles - ArticlesBase
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English topace, from Old French, from Latin topazus, from Greek topazos.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English also topase, topace; from Middle English topas, thopas, topace, tupace; also, as Middle Latin, topacius (also fancifully as the name of Chaucer's Sir Topas or Thopas) =G. topas, from Old French topase, topaze, French topaze =Provencal topazi =Spanish topacio =Portuguese Italian topazio, from Late Latin topazion, also topazon, Latin topazus, Middle Latin also topazius, topacius (in L. applied to the chrysolite), from Greek τοπάζων, also τόπαζος, the yellow or oriental topaz; origin unknown; possibly so called from its brightness; cf. Sanskrit tapas, heat. According to Pliny (bk. xxxvii. c. 8), the name is derived from that of Topazas, an island in the Red Sea, the position of which is ‘conjectural,’ from Greek τοπάζειν, conjecture. Others place this conjectural island in the Arabian Sea.
 

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/ˈtoʊpæz/
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