topaz

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a hard aluminium fluorosilicate mineral, often transparent and cut as a gemstone in colorless, yellow, blue, pink, brown, or other varieties

   The pendant held an oval blue topaz surrounded by small diamonds.

2. 2
   noun

   a golden-yellow, yellow-brown, or light brown color associated with the gemstone

   Topaz glowed along the horizon as the sun began to set.

3. 3
   noun

   historical: a name applied loosely to various yellow gemstones, including stones now identified as peridot or quartz

   The old catalogue used topaz for several yellow stones that modern mineralogy classifies differently.

Simplified etymology

Topaz reached Middle English through Old French topace or topaze and Latin topazus from Greek topazos. In medieval use it could denote any yellow gemstone, including yellow sapphire. The Greek word's own origin is uncertain: an ancient story connected it with a hard-to-find Red Sea island, probably through folk association with Greek topazein, “to divine or try to locate,” while another proposal links it to Sanskrit tapas, “heat” or “fire.”

Through Old French topaze and Latin topazus from Greek Topazios, the ancient name of an island in the Red Sea. The island yielded peridot rather than modern topaz, reflecting the loose classification of early gemstones. A proposed alternative connects the name with Sanskrit tapas, 'heat or fire.'

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary