opal

See also: Opal, opál, ópal, òpal, and opał

English

Banded opal, a variety of opal (1)

Etymology

Etymology tree
Sanskrit उपल (upala)bor.
Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios)der.
Latin opaluslbor.
French opalebor.
English opal

    In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”).[1] Distantly related to over.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈəʊpəl/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • (US) IPA(key): /ˈoʊpəl/
    • Rhymes: -əʊpəl

    Noun

    opal (plural opals)

    2. (mineralogy) A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O.
      1. (gemology) A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
      • 2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist‎[2], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 June 2012, page 128:
        Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
    3. The colour of opal: any shade of blue with bright flecks of other colours, such as white, yellow, and red.
      • 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 141:
        The witchery of the dawn turned the grey river-reaches to purple, gold, and opal; and it was as though the lumbering dhoni crept across the splendors of a new heaven.
    4. (biology, genetics, biochemistry) A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
    5. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    References

    1. ^ Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, Robert K. Barnhart (ed.), Chambers, 1988

    Further reading

    • David Barthelmy (1997–2026), “Opal”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
    • “opal”, in Mindat.org, Keswick, Va.: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2026.

    Anagrams

    Cebuano

    Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Sanskrit उपल (upala)bor.
    Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios)der.
    Latin opaluslbor.
    French opalebor.
    English opalbor.
    Cebuano opal

      From English opal, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”).

      Pronunciation

      • Hyphenation: o‧pal

      Noun

      opal

      1. (mineralogy) opal

      Polish

      Pronunciation

       
      • IPA(key): /ˈɔ.pal/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes: -ɔpal
      • Syllabification: o‧pal

      Etymology 1

      Etymology tree
      Sanskrit उपल (upala)bor.
      Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios)der.
      Latin opaluslbor.
      Polish opal

        Learned borrowing from Latin opalus. Introduced by Cnapius.[1]

        Noun

        opal m inan (related adjective opalowy)

        1. (mineralogy) opal
        Declension
        Declension of opal
        singular plural
        nominative opal opale
        genitive opalu opali
        dative opalowi opalom
        accusative opal opale
        instrumental opalem opalami
        locative opalu opalach
        vocative opalu opale

        References

        1. ^
          1955, Jadwiga Puzynina, “Neologizmy Grzegorza Knapskiego (dokończenie)”, in Poradnik Językowy‎[1], number 128, page 106:
          Z tych wszystkich neologizmów utrzymało się w żywym języku 7 terminów przyrodniczych (chruścik, czerwonak, koniopłach, nosorożec, opal, żyworodny), 5 rzeczowników innych (obieg, przeistoczenie, skarbnik, słownik, sypialnia), 6 przymiotników (łzawy, w znacz. trochę od dzisiejszego odmiennym, nadzwyczajny, pijalny, powtarzalny, przenośny, używalny).
          Of all these neologisms, 7 natural science terms have remained in the living language (chruścik, czerwonak, koniopłach, nosorożec, opal, żyworodny), 5 other nouns (obieg, przeistoczenie, skarbnik, słownik, sypialnia), and 6 adjectives (łzawy, in a meaning somewhat different from today's, nadzwyczajny, pijalny, powtarzalny, przenośny, używalny).

        Etymology 2

          See opał.

          Noun

          opal m inan

          1. (Eastern Lublin, Żabno) alternative form of opał
            na opal ― for burning

          Etymology 3

            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Verb

            opal

            1. second-person singular imperative of opalić

            Further reading

            • “opal”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
            • “opal”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[4] (in Polish)
            • Hieronim Łopaciński (1892), “na opal”, in “Przyczynki do nowego słownika języka polskiego (słownik wyrazów ludowych z Lubelskiego i innych okolic Królestwa Polskiego)”, in Prace Filologiczne (in Polish), volume 4, Warsaw: skł. gł. w Księgarni E. Wende i Ska, page 220

            Romanian

            Etymology

            Etymology tree
            Sanskrit उपल (upala)bor.
            Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios)der.
            Latin opalusbor.
            German Opalbor.
            ▲
            Latin opaluslbor.
            ▲
            Latin opaluslbor.
            French opalebor.
            Romanian opal

              Borrowed from German Opal, or a learned borrowing from Latin opalus, or borrowed from French opale.

              Noun

              opal n (plural opale)

              1. (mineralogy) opal

              Declension

              singular plural
              indefinite definite indefinite definite
              nominative-accusative opal opalul opale opalele
              genitive-dative opal opalului opale opalelor
              vocative opalule opalelor
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