Earth & SkyGreek → English
Diamond
/ˈdaɪəmənd/noun
The hardest natural substance, a crystalline form of carbon cut as a gem.
The Greek roots
ἀ-
a-
not, un-
δαμάζειν
damázein
to tame, subdue
Literally: “untameable”
The story of the word
Greek ἀδάμας named whatever the hardest known material was, sometimes a very hard steel rather than the stone. Medieval Latin reshaped adamas into diamas, probably pulled by the crowd of words beginning dia-, and Old French passed on diamant. The untouched Greek form came into English separately as adamant, which used to be a substance and is now a state of mind. δαμάζειν is cognate with tame and with indomitable.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Medieval Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 13th century
Same family
adamantadamantine
In a sentence
The diamond in the ring was smaller than the setting suggested.
Industrial diamond does most of the world's hard cutting.