em·er·y
(ĕmə-rē, ĕmrē)
(ĕmə-rē, ĕmrē)n.
A fine-grained impure corundum used for grinding and polishing.
[Middle English, from Old French emeri, emeril, from Late Latin smericulum, from Greek smuris, smiris; perhaps akin to smēn, to wipe, cleanse (of unknown origin) or to Hebrew šāmîr, a kind of very hard substance (possibly corundum).]