gem
Other forms: gems; gemming
A gem is a precious or semi-precious stone, or a jewel. A silversmith might experiment with adding gems to her rings and necklaces.
The sparkly gem in your grandmother's fancy ring might be a diamond, while your aunt appears to prefer the polished greenish-blue gems called turquoise. If you're trained to identify and put a value on gems, you can call yourself a gemologist. Gem is from the Old French gemme, which has a Latin root, gemma, "precious stone or jewel."
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a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry“he had the gem set in a ring for his wife”types:cabochona highly polished gem that is cut convexly but without facetsopaque gema gemstone that is opaquetransparent gema gemstone having the property of transmitting light without serious diffusionchrysoberyla rare hard yellow green mineral consisting of beryllium aluminate in crystal form; used as a gemstonegarnetany of a group of hard glassy minerals (silicates of various metals) used as gemstones and as an abrasiveopala translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color; some varieties are used as gemstonesamethysta transparent purple variety of quartz; used as a gemstoneaquamarinea transparent, light blue or bluish-green variety of the mineral beryl, used as a gemstonecat's eyeany of various gems (as chrysoberyl or chalcedony) that reflect light when cut in a rounded shapechrysolitea brown or yellow-green olivine found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and used as a gemstonechrysoprasea green variety of chalcedony valued as a gemstonecitrinesemiprecious yellow quartz resembling topazcoral, precious coral, red coralthe hard stony skeleton of a Mediterranean coral that has a delicate red or pink color and is used for jewelryemeralda green transparent form of beryl; highly valued as a gemstonejade, jadestonea semiprecious gemstone that takes a high polish; is usually green but sometimes whitish; consists of jadeite or nephritejasperan opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstonekunzitea pinkish lilac crystal form of the mineral spodumene that is used as a gemstonemoonstonea transparent or translucent gemstone with a pearly luster; some specimens are orthoclase feldspar and others are plagioclase feldsparmorganitea kind of pink beryl used as a gemstoneperidota pale green variety of chrysolite; used as a gemstonerubya transparent deep red variety of corundum; used as a gemstone and in laserswater sapphirea deep blue cordierite often used as a gemstonesapphirea precious transparent stone of corundum, typically a rich blue, valued as a gemstonehiddenitea green transparent form of the mineral spodumene used as a gemstonetopaza mineral (fluosilicate of aluminum) that occurs in crystals of various colors and is used as a gemstonetourmalinea mineral that is a complex borosilicate and hydroxide of aluminum containing iron and magnesium and calcium and lithium and sodium; it is usually black but occurs in transparent colored forms that are used as gemstonesturquoisea blue to grayish-green mineral consisting of copper aluminum phosphatetype of:crystala solid formed by the solidification of a chemical and having a highly regular atomic structure
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a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelrysynonyms: jewel, precious stonetypes:crown jewela precious stone that is a valuable part of a sovereign's regaliasolitairea gem (usually a diamond) in a setting by itselfdiamonda transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gemrubya transparent piece of ruby that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gempearla smooth lustrous round structure inside the shell of a clam or oyster; much valued as a jewelemeralda transparent piece of emerald that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gemsapphirea transparent piece of sapphire that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gemseed pearla small imperfect pearl
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art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
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a person who is as brilliant and precious as a piece of jewelry
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a sweet quick bread baked in a cup-shaped pansynonyms: muffintypes:bran muffinmuffin containing brancorn muffincornbread muffinpopoverlight hollow muffin made of a puff batter (individual Yorkshire pudding) baked in a deep muffin cuptype of:quick breadbreads made with a leavening agent that permits immediate baking
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Vocabulary lists containing gem
Polish your lexicon with these words for gems, jewels, and rocks. Don't take your vocabulary for granite!
Is your vocabulary feeling lax, with too many words beyond your ken? Dip into this vat of verbal gems of every hue and turn your woe into awe! These four lists are arranged from easiest to most challenging. Try and learn them all! Here are links to our lists in the collection: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Stories about a famous pair of shoes, an iconic toy store, and a legendary pilot's lost plane all contributed words to this list of vocabulary from the week's news.