What does "emerald" mean?
Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.
Emerald
/ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone.
- Grammar: emerald is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adamant, aestival, agate, alexandrite.
- Useful contrasts: boring, colorless, crimson.
- Usage evidence: Rare gems include aquamarine, amethyst, emerald, quartz and ruby.
How to use "emerald"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "emerald" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "emerald" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "emerald" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "emerald" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of various green gemstones, especially a green transparent form of beryl, highly valued as a precious stone. countable, uncountable
"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 the green color of an emerald wordnet
- 3 Emerald green, a colour. countable, uncountable
- 4 a transparent piece of emerald that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem wordnet
- 5 Vert, when blazoning by precious stones. countable, uncountable
"16. As the first. Crest, on a Mount Emerald, a Falcon rising Topaz."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a green transparent form of beryl; highly valued as a gemstone wordnet
- 7 Any hummingbird in the genera Chlorostilbon and Elvira; and some in the genus Amazilia countable, uncountable
- 8 Any of various species of dragonfly of the family Corduliidae. countable, uncountable
- 9 A size of type between nonpareil and minion, standardized as 6½-point. UK, countable, dated, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To ornament with, or as if with, emeralds; to make green. poetic, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Of a rich green colour.
"The insect-queen of eastern spring, / O'er emerald meadows of Kashmeer / Invites the young pursuer near, / And leads him on from flower to flower / A weary chase and wasted hour."
Proper Noun
- 1 A town in Queensland, Australia.
- 2 A town in the Shire of Cardinia and the Shire of Yarra Ranges, central Victoria, Australia
- 3 A rural municipality in eastern Saskatchewan, Canada; in full, the Rural Municipality of Emerald No. 277.
- 4 A female given name from English. rare
"The child, a girl, was albino like April, and had exactly April's deep red eyes. Sol and Libra named her Emerald, a green name and a ground-term rather than a sky-term, as if in open expression of the slow spell worked on them all by Viridis."
Example
"Rare gems include aquamarine, amethyst, emerald, quartz and ruby."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "emerald"?
Common synonyms include: adamant, aestival, agate, alexandrite, amethyst, aquamarine.
How do you use "emerald" in a sentence?
Rare gems include aquamarine, amethyst, emerald, quartz and ruby.
How do you pronounce "emerald"?
Pronounced /ˈɛm.(ə.)ɹəld/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English emeraude, borrowed from Old French esmeraude, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, *smaraldus, *smaraudus, variant of Latin smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος (smáragdos), μάραγδος (máragdos), from a Semitic language. Compare Hebrew בָּרֶקֶת (bāréqeṯ, “emerald, flashing gem”), Akkadian 𒁀𒊏𒄣 (baraqu, literally “scintillation”), Arabic بَرْق (barq, literally “flashing”), Egyptian bwyrqꜣ (literally “to sparkle”):D58-Z7-Z4:D21-N29-Z1-G1-D6 and loanwords with Semitic etymon such as Sanskrit मरकत (marakata).
Etymology 2
From emerald. The Queensland town takes its name from the emerald and other precious stone deposits in the area and from the pastoral run Emerald Downs, a name chosen circa 1860 by pastoralist Peter Fitzallan MacDonald. It is unclear if emeralds were found in or around Emerald. The given name is a modern coinage from the name of the gemstone, representing a vernacular form of Esmeralda.