Meanings
nounbalas-ruby (plural balas-rubies)
plural balas-rubies
- A rose-coloured spinel once thought to be a type of ruby.
In shape it is a tiny square box of silver, studded outside with eight small balas-rubies.
1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Bisara of Pooree”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2005, page 1711 more example
Richard II had a coat, valued at thirty thousand marks, which was covered with balas rubies.
1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Vintage, published 2007, page 120
Translations
French rubis balais
- rubis balaisvariety of ruby
German Balas-Rubin
- Balas-Rubinvariety of ruby
Italian balascio
- balasciovariety of ruby
Latin balascus
- balascusvariety of ruby
Persian بدخش
- بدخش (badaxš)variety of ruby
Spanish balaje, balaj
- balajevariety of ruby
- balajvariety of ruby
Cite this entry
APA
balas-ruby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balas-ruby
MLA
“balas-ruby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balas-ruby. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balas-ruby,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balas-ruby.
Source: balas-ruby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.