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View synonyms for sapphire

sapphire

[ saf-ahyuhr ]

noun

  1. any gem variety of corundum other than the ruby, especially one of the blue varieties.
  2. a gem of this kind.
  3. the color of this gem, a deep blue.


adjective

  1. resembling sapphire; deep blue:

    a sapphire sky.

sapphire

/ ˈsæfaɪə /

noun

    1. any precious corundum gemstone that is not red, esp the highly valued transparent blue variety. A synthetic form is used in electronics and precision apparatus. Formula: Al 2 O 3
    2. ( as modifier )

      a sapphire ring

    1. the blue colour of sapphire
    2. ( as adjective )

      sapphire eyes



sapphire

/ săfīr′ /

  1. A clear, fairly pure form of the mineral corundum that is usually blue but may be any color except red. It often contains small amounts of oxides of cobalt, chromium, and titanium and is valued as a gem.
  2. Compare ruby


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Word History and Origins

Origin of sapphire1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English saphir(e), saph(i)er, from Old French safir(e), saffir, saffer, from Latin sapphīrus, sappīrus, from Greek sáppheiros, perhaps “lapis lazuli, lazurite, sapphire,” probably from Semitic (compare Hebrew sappīr, and probably a loanword in Semitic); sappīr and related Semitic forms perhaps come from Sanskrit śanipuriya “dear to (the planet) Saturn,” equivalent to Śani “(the planet) Saturn” + priyá- “dear”; further origin uncertain

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sapphire1

C13 safir, from Old French, from Latin sapphīrus, from Greek sappheiros, perhaps from Hebrew sappīr, ultimately perhaps from Sanskrit śanipriya, literally: beloved of the planet Saturn, from śani Saturn + priya beloved

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Example Sentences

One Sapphire, Kay, falls for a black soldier, even as she struggles with her Aboriginal identity.

His highly acclaimed, and highly controversial, 2009 film, Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, is a case in point.

“In my original notes I had that Precious would have a baby girl, then here comes this boy,” Sapphire says with a laugh.

Sapphire says that had she not already finished much of The Kid, the criticism would have “stopped me dead in my tracks.”

“The logical or realistic way this story would end up would be total disaster,” says Sapphire.

If you want to make a synthetic sapphire, you start with a seed sapphire, and the artificial process builds up on that.

Her Nazarites were whiter than snow, purer than milk, more ruddy than the old ivory, fairer than the sapphire.

Sometimes sky and sea have been steeped in dazzling haze of golden glare, sometimes brightened to blue of a sapphire depth.

She was sitting on a low divan, head bent, slowly turning a sapphire ring on her finger, round and round.

We proceeded moderately and sedately upon our shining way, skirting the sapphire sea, dotted here and there with green islands.

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Sapphirasapphirine