Etymologically
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gem

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /d͡ʒɛm/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English gemme, borrowed from Old French gemme,[2][3][4] from Latin gemma (“bud; precious stone, jewel”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Italic *gebma- (“bud, sprout”), related to Lithuanian žembėti (“to sprout”).[3][2] The PIE root is uncertain: Watkins proposes Proto-Indo-European *ǵembʰ- (“tooth, nail”), others a root meaning to press.[3] It replaced Old English ġimm, borrowed earlier from the same Latin word.[2][4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A precious stone: about 825 in the OED, for the Old English word;[5] the French-derived gemme before 1300 in Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline.[2][3] Forms like iemme, gimme persisted into the 14th century.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Of a person, a rare or excellent example, it is from the late 13th century (about 1275).[3][5] A bud, especially a leaf bud, is from 1382, now obsolete.[5][2] An object of rare beauty or worth, the choicest part of something, is from about 1560,[5] and an engraved stone from 1638.[5] The verb, to adorn with gems, is from about 1600 (1610 in Barnhart),[3][2] and gemstone is from about 1000.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 825 – ġimm, a precious stone.[5]
  • c. 1000 – gemstone.[2]
  • c. 1275 – a person of excellence.[5]
  • before 1300 – gemme.[2]
  • 1382 – a bud (obsolete).[5]
  • 1610 – to gem, adorn.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A precious or semiprecious stone, especially one cut and polished for jewellery; a jewel.
  2. A person or thing of great worth or beauty; a treasure.
  3. A kind of small cake or muffin.

Verb

  1. To adorn with gems.

Word family

  • gemless
  • gemlike
  • begem
  • gemmy
  • gemology
  • gemstone
  • gem clip
  • Gem State
  • gemma
  • gemmology
  • gemmation

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press