Smaragdine

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /sməˈɹæɡdiːn/

Definitions

1. Of or relating to the color green, or composed of or resembling emerald in appearance or properties
2. Displaying the vivid hue or lustrous quality characteristic of emeralds and precious green stones
3. Having the bright green coloration or crystalline brilliance associated with emeralds and gemstones

Etymology: Ancient Greek "smaragdos" was the name for a green gemstone, and the word has a deep ancestry that predates the stone's later English name "emerald." Many scholars trace "smaragdos" to a much older Semitic source, probably related to words for green stones, which passed into Greek through trade. Greek writers then built the adjective "smaragdinos," meaning "made of emerald" or "emerald-like," and the Romans borrowed it as "smaragdinus," which took the same sense. English took "smaragdine" directly from that Latin adjective, so the word is a learned borrowing rather than a word that came through everyday speech. Its suffix "-ine" marks it as "of or like," the same pattern found in words such as "crystalline." Because the gem itself was so prized, the adjective allowed writers to describe anything with the stone's brilliant green, from leaves to light, without naming the jewel each time.