Etymology

diamond

D2I1A1M3O1N1D2

Today it means: A glimmering glass-like mineral that is an allotrope of carbon in which each atom is surrounded by four others in the form of a tetrahedron. Full definition →

Middle English dyamaunt ← Old French diamant ← Late Latin diamās
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diamond · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*ə-
  4. Ancient Greekἀ- (a-)?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*demh₂-
  6. Ancient Greekδαμνάω (damnáō)?
  7. Ancient Greekἀδάμας (adámas)
  8. Latinadamās
  9. Late Latindiamās
  10. Old Frenchdiamant
  11. Middle Englishdyamaunt
  12. English todaydiamond

From Middle English dyamaunt, from Old French diamant, from Late Latin diamās, from Latin adamās, from Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “diamond”). Doublet of adamant. The printing sense is a calque of Dutch diamant, used by Dirck Voskens who first cut it around 1700; compare pearl, ruby (“size of type between pearl and nonpareil”).

Diamond · proper noun2

  1. Irish · derived fromÓ Diamáin
  2. English todayDiamond

* As a female given name, from diamond (gemstone). * As a German surname, Anglicized form of Diamant. * As a Irish surname, Anglicized form of Irish Ó Diamáin.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchdiamant all →

demantoid

Ancient Greekἀδάμᾱς all →

diamante

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.