emerald

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

Also spelled emeraults

US /ˈɛmɚəld/ UK /ˈɛmərəld/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a bright green precious gemstone, or its color

She wore an emerald set in an antique gold ring.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a bright green precious... beryl green

Word family

Forms emeraldine

Simplified etymology

Emerald entered English in the Middle English period and can be traced through Greek smaragdos, ultimately to an ancient Hebrew verb meaning “flash” or “sparkle.” Early English uses were imprecise and did not always denote a green gemstone.

Etymology

From Old French esmeralde, from Vulgar Latin *smaraldus, alteration of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek smáragdos ('green gem'), probably ultimately of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew bāreqeth).

smáragdos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# emerald

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɛmɚəld/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɛmərəld/

## Meanings
1. a bright green precious gemstone, or its color

## Examples
- She wore an emerald set in an antique gold ring.

## Synonyms
- beryl
- green

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: smáragdos

## Etymology
From Old French esmeralde, from Vulgar Latin *smaraldus, alteration of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek smáragdos ('green gem'), probably ultimately of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew bāreqeth).

## AI Etymology
Emerald comes from Old French esmeralde, from Vulgar Latin *smaraldus, alteration of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek smáragdos ('green gem'), probably ultimately of Semitic origin (compare Hebrew bāreqeth). The history is deliberately cautious: the proposed comparison is useful for orientation, but the wording leaves room for uncertainty rather than forcing a false certainty. In present use, it is used as a noun and adjective meaning "a bright green precious gemstone, or its color", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The named historical forms include Ancient Greek smáragdos, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes beryl and green, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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