释义 |
amethystn.adj.Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French ametiste. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French amatiste, ametiste, Old French ametite, Middle French amathiste, amathyste, amethyste (French améthyste ) precious stone of violet-purple colour (c1100; see also note below) < classical Latin amethystus (also amethystos ; in post-classical Latin also amatista (13th cent. in British sources)) precious stone of violet-purple colour, kind of vine supposed to yield a non-intoxicating wine < Hellenistic Greek ἀμέθυστος (feminine; also ἀμέθυστον , neuter) remedy against drunkenness, kind of plant supposed to be effective against drunkenness, stone of violet-purple colour (apparently so called because it is the same colour as wine which has been diluted so as not to cause drunkenness), use as noun of ἀμέθυστος not drunken, without drunkenness, in Byzantine Greek also not intoxicating < ancient Greek ἀ- a- prefix6 + μεθύειν to be drunk ( < μέθυ wine: see mead n.1) + inserted -σ- + -τος, suffix forming verbal adjectives.Compare Old Occitan almatist (12th cent.), amatis (c1275), (Gascon) almatista (1442), amatista (1502), Catalan ametista (end of the 14th cent. as †amatista ), Spanish amatista , †amatisto (both late 13th cent.; also †ametisto ), Portuguese ametista (14th cent. as †ametistus , †amatista ), Italian ametista (1770; earlier as †ametisto (c1300), †amatista (1383), †amatisto (first half of the 13th cent.)). Compare also Middle Dutch ametistis , ametiste (Dutch amethist ), Middle Low German ammatist , Middle High German ametiste , amatist (German Amethyst ), Old Swedish amatist (Swedish ametist , †amethyst ), most of which were borrowed via French. Specific forms. The β. forms, paralleled in many Romance and other Germanic languages, are probably ultimately due partly to folk-etymological association partly with classical Latin amātus beloved, use as adjective of past participle of amāre to love (see amant n.; compare post-classical Latin Amathystus , variant (attested in inscriptions) of the personal name Amethystus ), and partly to confusion or association with classical Latin haematītes haematite n. and its descendants in various Romance languages. See further Französisches etymol. Wörterbuch XXIV. at amethystus. The English forms with medial -th- show remodelling after classical Latin amethystus, as do French forms with medial -th- . Specific senses. Use as adjective in the sense ‘of the colour of the precious stone, violet-purple’ and as noun in the sense ‘violet-purple colour’ is not found in French until later than in English (1817 as adjective, 1850 as noun). The heraldic use in sense A. 2a is apparently not paralleled in French. A. n. 1. society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > rock crystal > [noun] > amethyst the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > quartz > crystalline quartzes > others a1300 in C. Brown (1932) 73 Hwat spekstu of eny stone..Of amatiste, of calcydone, of lectorie and tupace? a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvi. ix. 834 Amatistus is purpre rede in colour, ymedlid wiþ colour of violette. a1550 (c1477) T. Norton (Bodl. e Mus.) l. 1817 (MED) The Amatiste followeth the rubye in dignitee. 1596 T. Lodge sig. Hv The amethist staieth drunkennesse. 1727 J. Thomson 19 The Purple-streaming Amethyst is thine. 1821 M. Graham Jrnl. 13 Oct. in (1993) 34 I took leave of my amiable friends at the palace. Madame do Rego gave me several specimens of amethyst. 1955 R. M. Pearl 151 The most desired kind of quartz is amethyst, its choicest crystals a delectable purple or violet. 2009 (Nexis) 2 Mar. 6 The baubles were..wonderfully eclectic, as in the horn-petal necklace jazzed up with flakes of emerald, amethyst and pyrite root. ?a1425 (c1400) (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 144 (MED) Grete tables..of cristall or of Amatystez [Fr. dematistes]. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) ii. xi. sig. V8v The bloudy shaftes of Cupids warre, With amatists they headed are. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. 621 Such Amethysts as these..; many give them the name of Venus gems. 1748 J. Hill I. 591 The bluer Amethysts being by some [jewellers] call'd Rock Rubies. 1874 H. M. Westropp 41 The finest amethysts are brought from India, Persia, Ceylon, Brazil, and Siberia. 1988 R. Turnbull 43 Parrsboro..is another point of record high tides. Rock hounds know it as a place where amethysts, agates and other minerals may sometimes be found. 2018 16 Apr. 3/1 (advt.) The polished amethysts are hand-strung on double-knotted jeweler's thread. 2. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic tincture > [noun] > colour > purple 1572 J. Bossewell 105 He beareth on a wreathe ‘Topaze’ and ‘Saphiere’ an Alcian, volant, of the ‘Amatist’ mixte with ‘Pearle’. 1688 R. Holme i. viii. 81/1 He beareth Amethyst, a file of three points crossed, Pearl. 1725 R. Bradley Amethist, a Term in Heraldry, signifying the Purple Colour in the Coat of a Nobleman. 1973 J. P. Brooke-Little v. 125 There was once a fashion for using the names of jewels for the tinctures when blazoning the arms of noblemen... Gules, azure, sable, vert and purpure are respectively termed ruby, sapphire, diamond, emerald and amethyst. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > purple thing > [noun] 1818 J. Keats iv. 178 His litter of smooth semilucent mist, Diversely ting'd with rose and amethyst. c1875 H. W. Longfellow i The rolling meadows of amethyst. 1943 K. A. Porter 27 Dec. (1990) iv. 279 The fantastic row of apothecary's powders, pills and potions all of them in the most poisonously brilliant colors, amethyst and sapphire and emerald and London purple. 2007 Jan. 24/3 This..incorporates subtle shades of amethyst, amber, rose..and 24ct gold leaf. 1633 J. Ford iv. sig. H2v Haue 'ee seene A straying heart? all crannies, euery drop Of blood is turn'd to an Amethist. 1647 R. Baron iii. 51 I live not but by your love, which is in eternall characters ingraven upon the Amethist of my heart. 1843 J. A. St. John I. xv. 212 The sky was such as it appears only in those latitudes; in the zenith a suffusion of molten amethyst. 1901 Oct. 159 The vine about her brows has set A crown of living amethyst. 1997 S. Laurens ix. 72 Her eyes staring up at him, liquid amethyst, were all the answer he needed. B. adj.1650 R. Heath 25 On the taking of an Amethist ring from off Clarastella's finger as she was sleeping. 1763 23 June 601/2 Two highwaymen..robbed Mr. Appleton of his watch and money, and his lady of an amethyst ring. 1811 J. Black tr. A. von Humboldt I. 189 The great number of druses, abounding with amethyst crystals. 1978 (Christie's) 25–6 Apr. 22 Six amethyst beads on a ring. 1991 B. Whitehead (BNC) 137 Even in the thin winter light her amethyst necklace in its fine golden setting sparkled prettily. the world > matter > colour > named colours > purple or purpleness > [adjective] > bluish purple 1807 E. Butler Jrnl. 12 Dec. in E. M. Bell (1930) 343 Emerald valley, amethyst mountains. 1879 E. Clerke in June 724 The savage sculpture of their stony ribs accentuated by amethyst shadow. 1925 Dec. 487/2 An obsequious Chinaman exhibited to me a goldfish bowl, surmounted by twin globes, shaded by a abat-jour of amethyst Chinese damask. 1999 14 Aug. 16/1 The oasis hummingbird (Rhodopis vesper) is notable for its deeply forked tail and amethyst throat. Compoundsc1400 (?c1380) (1920) l. 1470 Amaraunz, and amaffised stones. a1500 in J. Evans & M. S. Serjeantson (1933) 46 Ye clothyng of ye Amatist colour. 1615 E. Grimeston tr. P. d'Avity 1033 The Dates, Manna, Corrall, and the Amethist stone of Arabia the Stonie. 1656 J. Tradescant 123 The Amethist-coloured English Iacynth. 1791 W. Hamilton tr. C.-L. Berthollet I. Introd. 11 The amethyst purple had the colour of the stone so called. 1889 26 Nov. 3/5 He..thought of that one golden-haired, amethyst-eyed woman, whose image haunted him. 1897 M. Kingsley i. 14 All the clouds gathered round the three islands, leaving the sky a pure amethyst pink. 1967 54 1009/2 The oil globules become bright rose-colored, and a small sphere..stains amethyst blue. 1997 M. Strutin iv. iv. 170 The woods are filled with luminous white clumps of Atamasco lilies shaded by amethyst-hued redbud trees. 2008 (Nexis) 11 Feb. 22 The seductive amethyst colour of the bottle and the delicate fragrance are a real Valentine treat. 2014 M. Sheraton 257/1 Cabrales [cheese] is shot through with amethyst-coloured veins. C2. 1813 T. Hopkirk 155 [Agaricus] amethystinus,..Amethyst Agaric. 1891 M. C. Cooke 220 The seasons will then be carried on by the hedgehog mushroom.., the small but abundant ivory caps.., the blewits.., and the amethyst agaric (Agaricus nudus). 1977 R. Rendell (1979) xi. 83 Fungus grew under hedges and on fallen trees, the oyster mushroom and the amethyst agaric. 1966 F. H. Brightman 132/1 Laccaria amethystea (‘Amethyst Deceiver’) closely resembles L. laccata in form and structure. 2019 B. J. Haveland tr. L. L. Woon 129 I even have a recipe using the Amethyst Deceiver. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.adj.a1300 |