diamond
/ˈdaɪəmənd/
noun
Origin
Ancient Greek
adamas — unconquerable, invincible
Overview
Meaning Now
- A transparent, extremely hard precious stone that is a metastable allotrope of carbon, crystallizing in the isometric system.
- A rhombus-shaped figure, or a playing card of the suit represented by a red rhombus symbol.
Literal older meaning
unconquerable; invincible
Language path
Ancient Greek → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
diamaund
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term traces back to the Greek 'adamas', denoting invincibility due to the stone's extreme hardness. In antiquity, the term was often applied to other hard materials like corundum, but it became exclusively associated with carbon diamonds by the Middle Ages.
Evolution
- Ancient Greek
adamas
“hardest metal or stone”
Original sense referred to various hard substances.
- Late Latin
diamas
“diamond”
- Old French
diamant
“diamond”
- Middle English
diamaund
“diamond”
Connections
Word parts
a-
prefix
not
daman
root
to tame
Related across languages
French
diamant
diamond
German
Diamant
diamond
Related words
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.