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the adamantine opposition of his parents to his marriage to a girl from a poor family
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The Greek and Latin word for the hardest imaginable substance, whether applied to a legendary stone or an actual substance, such as diamond, was "adamas." Latin poets used the term figuratively for things lasting, firm, or unbending, and the adjective "adamantinus" was used in similar contexts. The English noun "adamant" (meaning "an unbreakable or extremely hard substance"), as well as the adjective "adamant" (meaning "inflexible" or "unyielding"), came from "adamas." "Adamantine," which has such figurative uses as "rigid," "firm," and "unyielding," came from "adamantinus." "Adamas" is actually the source of "diamond" as well. "Diamas," the Latin term for diamond, was an alteration of "adamas."
First Known Use: 13th century
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearNglish: Translation of adamantine for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of adamantine for Arabic speakers
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