Beryl
adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A mineral of pegmatite deposits, often used as a gemstone (molecular formula Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈). uncountable
"The sunset had been magnificent, and the Thames was floating in dark radiance; the waves wearing that transparent clearness, which gives more the idea of melted beryl, than aught else: every little circle in the water had that trembling light which characterises precious stones."
- 2 the chief source of beryllium; colored transparent varieties are valued as gems wordnet
- 3 An example (a stone) of the mineral beryl. countable
"The crown was set with six beryls of excellent size and color."
- 4 A dull blueish green color. uncountable
- 1 Of a dull bluish green colour. not-comparable
- 1 A female given name from English derived from the gem beryl.
- 2 A male given name from Yiddish, meaning “little bear”. rare
- 3 A locality in the Mid-Western council area, eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Example
More examples"He married Beryl Garçia, one of the beauties of Costa Rica, and, having purloined a considerable sum of public money, he changed his name to Vandeleur and fled to England, where he established a school in the east of Yorkshire."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English beryl, from Old French beril, from Latin bērillus, bēryllus, from Ancient Greek βήρυλλος (bḗrullos, “beryl”), in turn borrowed from Middle Indic forms like Pali veḷuriya or Prakrit 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑀼𑀮𑀺𑀅 (verulia), from Dravidian, probably named after Velur (modern day Belur) in southern India.
From beryl or an anglicization of Yiddish בערל (berl, literally “little bear”).
Related phrases
More for "beryl"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.