sapphire English · revision 865
11 Oct 2026, 01:05 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsæf.aɪ̯əɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|saphir]], [[bor|fro|saphir]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|sapphīrus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|σάπφειρος|tr=sáppheiros]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably from a Semitic source like Hebrew ''sappīr''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The OED doubts that it is ultimately Semitic, and some suggest Sanskrit ''śanipriya'' “dear to Saturn”, a dark precious stone.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A precious stone of a beautiful transparent blue (before 1272 in the OED; about 1250 in Barnhart);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) it appears earlier as a surname (1221).^(Barnhart 1995)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The gem the Greeks called ''sáppheiros'' was apparently not the modern sapphire but perhaps [[lapis lazuli]].^(Etymonline) In mineralogy the name was extended to all the transparent precious varieties of [[corundum]] (1668).^(OED 1989) As a colour, a deep bright blue, it dates from the 1680s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in heraldry it named the tincture azure (1562).^(OED 1989) A sapphire was also used as a gramophone stylus (1943).^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1221 – as a surname.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * c. 1250 – the gem.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1432 – adjective, sapphire-coloured.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1668 – any precious corundum.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1680s – a deep blue colour.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1943 – a gramophone stylus.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A clear, hard variety of [[corundum]] used as a gemstone, usually blue but of any colour except red.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A gem of this mineral.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+ # A deep, brilliant blue colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of or like a sapphire; of a deep blue colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[star sapphire]]
+ * [[white sapphire]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[ruby]]
+ * [[corundum]]
+ * [[lapis lazuli]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}