Diadem

//ˈdaɪ.ədɛm// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty.

    "The Apollon wing of the Louvre has a set of historic crowns, diadems and sovereign jewellery."

  2. 2
    an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty wordnet
  3. 3
    A crown.

    "And vvhen the princely Perſean Diadem, / Shall ouervveigh his vvearie vvitleſſe head, / And fall like mellovved fruit, vvith ſhakes of death, / In faire Perſea noble Tamburlain / Shall be my Regent, and remaine as King:"

  4. 4
    Regal power; sovereignty; empire—considered as symbolized by the crown.
  5. 5
    An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also of a coronet), and uniting with others over its centre.
Verb
  1. 1
    To adorn with a diadem; to crown.

    "The star of her destiny is the morning star of the new-born century. O’er the Golden Gate it glitters, diademming this youthful Queen of the Pacific in her robes of freedom gorgeously inlaid with gold."

Synonyms

All synonyms
crowntiaraankletannular muscleannulusareola

Example

More examples

"Therewith the royal sceptre, which of yore / Ilione, Priam's eldest daughter, bore; / her shining necklace, strung with costly beads, / and diadem, rimmed with gold and studded o'er / with sparkling gems. Thus charged, Achates heeds, / and towards the ships forthwith in eager haste proceeds."

Etymology

From Middle English diademe, dyademe, from Old French diademe, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”).

Related phrases

diadem lemurdiadem monkeydiadem spider

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.