Earth & SkyGreek → English
Topaz
/ˈtoʊpæz/noun
A hard silicate gem, usually yellow to golden brown.
The Greek roots
τόπαζος
tópazos
a golden-green gem
Literally: “stone of Topazos”
Follow a root:τόπαζος1 word
The story of the word
Pliny says the name came from Τοπάζος, an island in the Red Sea so often lost in fog that sailors had to guess at its position, from τοπάζειν, to guess. That island, now Zabargad, produces peridot rather than topaz, so the ancient topazos was almost certainly the green stone and the name slid later onto a different mineral. Others trace the word to Sanskrit tapas, heat, and Pliny's account has the shape of an etymology invented after the fact.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 13th century
In a sentence
A topaz the colour of weak tea, cut square and set in silver.