sapphire
/ˈsafʌɪə
/noun
1A transparent precious stone, typically blue, which is a variety of corundum (aluminium oxide): [as modifier]: a sapphire ring...
- Most of them were common gems - rubies, diamonds, onyxes, sapphires, emeralds, topazes, and so on, and were used to supplement Elements and Talents.
- There are no futures markets in diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts or any other precious stone because of their ‘unique’ factor.
- Gold, silver, lapis lazuli, rubies, opals, sapphires, emeralds, and many more gems I couldn't name adorned his neck, wrists, hands and ankles.
1.1 [mass noun] A bright blue colour: [as modifier]: the sapphire blue of the lake there was the slightest flicker of light deep within his sapphire eyes...
- By the nineteenth century these glass liners were often made in a beautiful deep sapphire blue that showed through their openwork silver cages.
- She had that amazing, natural-blonde head of hair and deep, sapphire blue eyes.
- A button-up oxford shirt, sapphire blue, meshed well with his eyes.
2A small hummingbird with shining blue or violet colours in its plumage and a short tail.
- Hylocharis and other genera, family Trochilidae: several species.
Derivatives
sapphirine
- The three sapphirine granulite samples with Sm / Nd ratios 0.1699, 0.1734 and 0.179 do not show sufficient spread in their isotopic ratios and hence no meaningful isochron can be derived.
- The upper-intercept zircon age of 988 Ma from sapphirine granulite is c.100 Ma older than the concordant monazite age of 900 Ma, which is commonly taken to represent the latest thermal equilibration.
- Additionally, isotopic disequilibrium between whole rock and minerals in sapphirine granulites could have resulted from rapid melting and been further enhanced by a prolonged reaction history of the sapphirine granulite.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French safir, via Latin from Greek sappheiros, probably denoting lapis lazuli.