koh-i-noorn.
/ˌkəʊɪˈnʊə/, /ˌkəʊɪˈnɔː/, /ˈkəʊɪnʊə/, /ˈkəʊɪnɔː/, U.S. /ˈkoʊəˌnʊ(ə)r/ An Indian diamond, famous for its size and history, which became one of the British Crown jewels on the annexation of the Punjaub in 1849; hence, allusively, any magnificent large diamond; figurative something that is the most precious or most superb of its kind.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > gem or precious stone > diamond > [noun] > very large
koh-i-noor1850
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being the best > [noun] > best thing or person
highesteOE
bestOE
greatest?c1225
pridec1330
crestc1400
primrosea1450
outrepass1477
A per sea1500
primrose peerless1523
prisec1540
prime1579
surquidry1607
excellency1611
nonsuchc1613
crown jewel1646
top1665
patriarch1700
pièce de résistance1793
number one1825
business1868
resistance piece1870
star1882
mostest1889
koh-i-noor1892
best-ever1905
flagship1933
the end1950
endsville1957
Big Mac1969
mack daddy1993
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxviii. 279 Miss Laura Bell..had such a sparkling and brilliant kohinnoor in her bosom, as is even more precious than that famous jewel.
1863 A. B. Grosart Small Sins (ed. 2) 34 The tiniest flaw or fracture in a diamond vitiates the whole gem—be it a very Koh-i-noor.
1892 19th Cent. Feb. 213 The great kohinoor of reciprocated affection.
1897 Westm. Gaz. 23 June 2/3 A scene at once so varied, so magnificent... It is, verily, the Koh-i-Noor of spectacles.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1850