AMETHYST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does amethyst mean? 

• AMETHYST (noun)
  The noun AMETHYST has 1 sense:

1. a transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone

  Familiarity information: AMETHYST used as a noun is very rare.

• AMETHYST (adjective)
  The adjective AMETHYST has 1 sense:

1. of a moderate purple color

  Familiarity information: AMETHYST used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AMETHYST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("amethyst" is a kind of...):

quartz (a hard glossy mineral consisting of silicon dioxide in crystal form; present in most rocks (especially sandstone and granite); yellow sand is quartz with iron oxide impurities)

transparent gem (a gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusion)

Derivation:

amethyst (of a moderate purple color)

• AMETHYST (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of a moderate purple color

Similar:

chromatic (being or having or characterized by hue)

Derivation:

amethyst (a transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstone)

 Context examples 

He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in the centre of the lid.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With anxiety I watched his eye rove over the gay stores: he fixed on a rich silk of the most brilliant amethyst dye, and a superb pink satin.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)