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Webster 1913 Edition

Sapphire

Sap′phire

(? or ?; 277)
,
Noun.
[OE.
saphir
, F.
saphir
, L.
sapphirus
, Gr. [GREEK], of Oriental origin; cf. Heb.
sappīr
.]
1.
(Min.)
Native alumina or aluminium sesquioxide,
Al2O3
; corundum; esp., the blue transparent variety of corundum, highly prized as a gem.
Of rubies,
sapphires
, and of pearlés white.
Chaucer.
☞ Sapphire occurs in hexagonal crystals and also in granular and massive forms. The name sapphire is usually restricted to the blue crystals, while the bright red crystals are called Oriental rubies (see under
Ruby
), the amethystine variety Oriental amethyst (see under
Amethyst
), and the dull massive varieties corundum (a name which is also used as a general term to include all varieties). See
Corundum
.
2.
The color of the gem; bright blue.
3.
(Zool.)
Any humming bird of the genus
Hylocharis
, native of South America. The throat and breast are usually bright blue.
Star sapphire
, or
Asteriated sapphire
(Min.)
,
a kind of sapphire which exhibits asterism.

Sap′phire

,
Adj.
Of or resembling sapphire; sapphirine; blue.
“The sapphire blaze.”
Gray.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sapphire

SAP'PHIRE

,
Noun.
[L. sapphirus; Gr. to scrape, to shine, to be fair, open, beautiful.]
A species of silicious gems or minerals, of several varieties. In hardness it is inferior to the diamond only. Its colors are blue, red, violet, yellow, green, white, or limpid, and one variety is chatoyant, and another asteriated or radiated.
Sapphire is a subspecies of rhomboidal corundum.
The oriental ruby and topaz are sapphires.
Sapphire is employed in jewelry and the arts.

Definition 2024

Sapphire

Sapphire

See also: sapphire

English

Proper noun

Sapphire

  1. A female given name from the precious stone.

Related terms

  • Sapphira

sapphire

sapphire

See also: Sapphire

English

A sapphire.

Noun

sapphire ‎(plural sapphires)

  1. A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
    • 2012 March 1, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 128:
      Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.
  2. A white, yellow, or purple variety of corundum, either clear or translucent.
  3. A deep blue colour.
    sapphire colour:    
  4. A type of South American hummingbird.
    The blue-chinned sapphire can be found many parts of South America, depending on season.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

sapphire ‎(comparative more sapphire, superlative most sapphire)

  1. of a deep blue colour.

Translations

See also

  1. ↑ sapphīrus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ↑ σάπφειρος in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ↑ “G4552”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
  4. ↑ “H5601”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
  5. ↑ Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1898) A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 1051/3

Latin

Noun

sapphīre f

  1. vocative singular of sapphīrus

References

  • sapphire in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus,[1] from Ancient Greek σάπφειρος ‎(sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”),[2][3] from a Semitic language (compare Hebrew סַפִּיר ‎(sappī́r)[4]), perhaps ultimately from a non-Semitic source such as Sanskrit शनिप्रिय ‎(śanipriya, “dark-colored stone”, literally “dear to Saturn”)[5].

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ɚ/
  • Hyphenation: sap‧phire

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