sapphire
A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stoneA clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
» His belly as of ivory, set with sapphires.
Meaning
6 senses(countable)A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
сапфі́рsapfír
a precious transparent stone of rich blue corundum valued as a gemstone
(countable, uncountable)A white, yellow, or purple variety of corundum, either clear or translucent.
(countable, uncountable)A deep blue colour.
Saphirblau
сапфі́ровийsapfírovyj, сапфі́рнийsapfírnyj
a light shade of blue
(countable, uncountable)Azure, when blazoning by precious stones.
Saphir
сапфи́рsapfír
сапфі́рsapfír
(countable)Any hummingbird in the genera Hylocharis and Chlorestes, as well as the rufous-throated sapphire, which is now in the genus Amazilia.
(countable, uncountable)Any of the butterflies in the southern Asian lycaenid genus Heliophorus or the African lycaenid genus Iolaus.
Examples
7 sentencesHis belly as of ivory, set with sapphires.
His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
I have to change the sapphire of my phonograph.
Sapphire is the blue form of corundum.
His eyes are like sapphires.
ruЕго глаза словно сапфиры.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English saphir, from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus,From Middle English saphir, from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus, from Ancient Greek σάπφειρος (sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”), from a Semitic language such as Hebrew סַפִּיר (sappī́r, “lapis lazuli”), originally from Assyrian Akkadian šipirtu (“lapis lazuli”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: sapphiresSynonyms
4 synonymsWord family
12 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable