diamond

A2 Topic:General Vocabulary

Also spelled di’monds

US /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/ See IPA manual

Freq #2919

Meanings

1

noun
A very hard, clear precious stone made of carbon, used in jewellery and cutting tools.

The dozen loose diamonds sparkled in the light.
2

noun
A shape with four equal straight sides standing on one of its points.

The kite was a bright red diamond against the sky.
3

noun
A playing card of the suit marked with red diamond shapes.

I had only one diamond left in my hand.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a very hard, clear precious... sparkler

2 noun · a shape with four equal... lozenge rhomb

Word family

Forms diamonds

Derived forms adamantinediamond-shapeddiamondbackdiamondiferousdiamondizediamondlessdiamondlikediamondoiddiamondwisehistodiamondhyperdiamondnanodiamond

Related forms argylebrifkacarbonadodemantoiddiamantediamantinediamondstoneparagonrhinestoneshlenter

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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diamond ring
a ring set with one or more diamonds

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (3)

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Simplified etymology

Diamond entered Middle English from a medieval Latin alteration of Latin adamans, the source of adamant. Adamant denoted a legendary rock or mineral credited with exceptional hardness, a property that led people to identify it with the diamond.

Etymology

From Middle English dyamaunt, from Old French diamant, from Late Latin diamās, from Latin adamās, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “diamond”). Doublet of adamant. The printing sense is a calque of Dutch diamant, used by Dirck Voskens who first cut it around 1700; compare pearl, ruby (“size of type between pearl and nonpareil”).

dyamaunt Middle English diamant Old French diamās la-lat adamās Latin ἀδάμᾱς Ancient Greek

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Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# diamond

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/
**Frequency rank:** 2919

## Meanings
1. A very hard, clear precious stone made of carbon, used in jewellery and cutting tools.
2. A shape with four equal straight sides standing on one of its points.
3. A playing card of the suit marked with red diamond shapes.

## Examples
- The dozen loose diamonds sparkled in the light.
- The kite was a bright red diamond against the sky.
- I had only one diamond left in my hand.

## Derived Forms
- adamantine
- diamond-shaped
- diamondback
- diamondiferous
- diamondize
- diamondless
- diamondlike
- diamondoid
- diamondwise
- histodiamond
- hyperdiamond
- nanodiamond

## Related Forms
- argyle
- brifka
- carbonado
- demantoid
- diamante
- diamantine
- diamondstone
- paragon
- rhinestone
- shlenter

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dyamaunt
- Root: diamant
- Root: diamās
- Root: adamās
- Root: ἀδάμᾱς

## Etymology
From Middle English dyamaunt, from Old French diamant, from Late Latin diamās, from Latin adamās, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “diamond”). Doublet of adamant. The printing sense is a calque of Dutch diamant, used by Dirck Voskens who first cut it around 1700; compare pearl, ruby (“size of type between pearl and nonpareil”).

## AI Etymology
diamond comes from Middle English dyamaunt, from Old French diamant, from Late Latin diamās, from Latin adamās, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “diamond”). Doublet of adamant. The printing sense is a calque of Dutch diamant, used by Dirck Voskens who first cut it around 1700; compare pearl, ruby (“size of type between pearl and nonpareil”). The historical chain includes Middle English dyamaunt, Old French diamant, la-lat diamās, Latin adamās, Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς. Current senses include A very hard, clear precious stone made of carbon, used in jewellery and cutting tools and A shape with four equal straight sides standing on one of its points. English relatives and later formations include adamantine, diamond-shaped, diamondback, argyle, brifka.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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