Opal

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈəʊpəl/

Definitions

1. A translucent gemstone that displays a shifting play of rainbow colors when viewed from different angles
2. A precious or semi-precious mineral composed of hydrated silica that exhibits iridescent color shifts and is valued for jewelry and ornamental purposes
3. A translucent to opaque stone containing silica and water that produces a distinctive multicolored optical effect depending on viewing angle and light conditions

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "opal" is that its ancestor may have meant "the upper millstone." In Sanskrit, "upala" meant "stone" or "gem," and it is generally linked to "upari," "above" or "upper." The word moved west through Medieval Greek "opallios," which was adopted into Latin as "opalus," and from there into French as "opale." An English record from 1598, in John Florio's dictionary A World of Words, shows it as "opale," so the word had reached English by the late sixteenth century. Its distant relationship to the English word "over" comes from the same Indo-European ancestry that gave Sanskrit "upari." The link is ancient and indirect, and English speakers have no reason to sense it today.

Synonyms: gem, precious stone