sardius

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical or biblical: sard, a translucent brownish-red to deep orange-red variety of chalcedony used as a gemstone

   The old account described palace gates made of sardius and carved horn.

From Latin sardius and Greek sardios, 'sard stone,' probably connected with Sardis in Asia Minor, though the historical derivation is uncertain. English sardius survives chiefly in biblical and antiquarian descriptions; modern mineralogy usually calls the stone sard.

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