What does "spinel" mean?

Any of several hard minerals of cubic symmetry that are mixed oxides of magnesium and aluminium and are used as gemstones of various colours.

What is a synonym for "spinel"?

Common synonyms include: alabaster, asphalt, diamond, emerald, jade, mineral.

//spɪˈnɛl// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of several hard minerals of cubic symmetry that are mixed oxides of magnesium and aluminium and are used as gemstones of various colours. countable, uncountable
"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.)"
2
Spindle; the amount of yarn that fits on a spindle. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[…] raised the price of that staple of yarn (of one Spinel in the pound weight) from 23d. to 26d. per Spinel."
3
a hard glassy mineral consisting of an oxide of magnesium and aluminum; occurs in various colors that are used as gemstones wordnet
4
Any crystalline material, not necessarily an oxide, that possesses the same crystal structure as this mineral. countable, uncountable

"The garnets in the detritus are accompanied by zircon, spinel, corundum, cyanite, tourmaline, olivine, etc."

Etymology 1

French spinelle, perhaps from Latin spina (“a thorn, a prickle”), in allusion to its pointed crystals.

Etymology 2

From Middle English spinel, from Old English spinel (“spindle; the amount of yard on a spindle”), whence also the usual modern form, English spindle.

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