Etymology

spinel

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Today it means: Any of several hard minerals of cubic symmetry that are mixed oxides of magnesium and aluminium and are used as gemstones of various colours. Full definition →

French spinelle
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spinel · noun1

  1. French · derived fromspinelle
  2. English todayspinel

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

spinel · noun2

  1. Old English · inherited fromspinel“spindle; the amount of yard on a spindle”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromspinel
  3. English todayspinel

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.