aquamarine
pronunciation
How to pronounce aquamarine in British English:
UK [ˌækwəməˈri:n]
How to pronounce aquamarine in American English:
US [ˌækwəməˈrin, ˌɑkwə-]
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- Noun:
- a transparent variety of beryl that is blue green in color
- a shade of blue tinged with green
Word Origin
- aquamarine
- aquamarine: [19] Aquamarine means literally ‘sea water’ – from Latin aqua marīna. Its first application in English was to the precious stone, a variety of beryl, so named because of its bluish-green colour. The art critic John Ruskin seems to have been the first to use it with reference to the colour itself, in Modern Painters 1846. (The French version of the word, aiguemarine, was actually used in English somewhat earlier, in the mid 18th century, but it did not long survive the introduction of the Latin version.) Latin aqua ‘water’ has of course contributed a number of other words to English, notably aquatic [15] (from Latin aquāticus), aqualung (coined around 1950), aquarelle [19] (via Italian acquerella ‘water colour’), aquatint [18] (literally ‘dyed water’), aqueduct [16] (from Latin aquaeductus), and aqueous [17] (a medieval Latin formation); it is related to Old English ēa ‘water’ and īg ‘island’, and is of course the source of French eau, Italian acqua, and Spanish agua.
- aquamarine (n.)
- 1590s, agmarine, "bluish-green type of beryl," from French or Provençal, from Latin aqua marina "sea water," from aqua "water" (see aqua-) + marina, fem. of marinus "of the sea" (see marine (adj.)). Apparently first used as a description of a bluish-green color by John Ruskin, 1846. Abbreviation aqua is attested from 1936.
Example
- 1. The largest place producing aquamarine stone is in brazil .
- 2. Having sported an aquamarine wig for the past few weeks , the singer decided to go back to her trademark platinum blonde look .
- 3. Aquamarine 's ceo martin mcadam , argues firms in the wave sector would benefit more from cooperation than competition at this early stage .
- 4. I heard aquamarine is the new black .
- 5. Aquamarine is the birthstone for march .