entry
sapphire
/ˈsæf.aɪ̯ɚ/Deep-blue precious gemstone
From Greek, ultimately from an uncertain Semitic source sappheiros (blue precious stone).
from Greek sappheiros , name of a blue precious stone
from Latin sapphirus (source also of Spanish zafir , Italian zaffiro )
+1 more sourcefrom Old French saphir (12c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French saphir (12c.) and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Greek sappheiros , name of a blue precious stone
from Latin sapphirus (source also of Spanish zafir , Italian zaffiro )
+1 more sourcefrom Old French saphir (12c.) and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French saphir (12c.) and directly
+1 more sourceAncient gem names are slippery little things. Greek writers used sáppheiros for a blue stone, but they may have been talking about lapis lazuli, not the hard corundum we now call sapphire. Then Latin picked it up, Old French smoothed it into saphir, and Middle English borrowed it in that same neat, jewel-box shape. There’s even a rival theory that the word came from Sanskrit sanipriya, tied to Saturn, which would make this gemstone sound like it had been baptized by an astrologer. By the Renaissance, lapidaries were giving sapphire all sorts of powers — calming anger, curing stupidity — which is exactly the kind of thing people say when a stone is both beautiful and expensive. So the word itself is a polished relic from a time when a blue rock could be mistaken for the night sky in your hand.
The Story
Ancient gem names are slippery little things. Greek writers used sáppheiros for a blue stone, but they may have been talking about lapis lazuli, not the hard corundum we now call sapphire. Then Latin picked it up, Old French smoothed it into saphir, and Middle English borrowed it in that same neat, jewel-box shape. There’s even a rival theory that the word came from Sanskrit sanipriya, tied to Saturn, which would make this gemstone sound like it had been baptized by an astrologer. By the Renaissance, lapidaries were giving sapphire all sorts of powers — calming anger, curing stupidity — which is exactly the kind of thing people say when a stone is both beautiful and expensive. So the word itself is a polished relic from a time when a blue rock could be mistaken for the night sky in your hand.
Kin & Kindred
From 'sappheiros'·blue precious stone; probably lapis lazuli
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
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Urban Dictionary
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