Opalise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To give something a milky, shifting iridescence like that of the opal gemstone, or to take on such a play of colours
2. Making a surface or substance shimmer with the soft, changing hues characteristic of precious opal
3. Causing an object to acquire the pearly, rainbow-tinged sheen of opal, or to acquire that sheen oneself

Etymology: "Opalise" is simply "opal" with the verb-forming suffix "-ise" added, meaning to give something the iridescent, pearly shimmer of opal. The stone's name took a long road to English: it traces back through Sanskrit "upala", a word for a precious stone, to Greek "opallios", which passed into Latin as "opalus" and then into French as "opale" before reaching English as "opal". The suffix has an equally old pedigree. The "-ise" ending descends from Greek verbs ending in "-izein", which Latin turned into "-izare" and French then reshaped into "-iser". English borrowed the pattern in the Middle Ages, and it became one of the most productive ways of making new verbs, so "opalise" is a straightforward combination of an ancient gem name with a well-worn verb ending.

Synonyms: opalize, iridesce, shimmer