agate

noun

ag·ate ˈa-gət

often attributive

: a fine-grained variegated chalcedony having its colors arranged in stripes, blended in clouds, or showing mosslike forms

: something made of or fitted with agate: such as

: a drawplate used by gold-wire drawers

: a playing marble of agate

: a size of type approximately 5¹/₂ point

: condensed information (such as advertisements or box scores) set especially in agate type

Examples of agate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web To round out her accessories, Camilla added one of her own Van Cleef & Arpels bracelets, the $4,800 agate Vintage Alhambra, as well as another gold piece and a second sapphire and diamond bracelet on her other wrist. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 22 Sep. 2023 There is also a wall of semi-precious blue agate in the main entranceway and blue mosaics in the wellness area. —

Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Nov. 2023 This level also features the most elaborate day head onboard, dressed in backlit blue agate. —

Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 20 Oct. 2023 This sophisticated set comes with three knives, each with a slice of agate as its handle. —

L. Daniela Alvarez, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2023 Ford spokesperson Susannah Evans tells The Verge that under the factory wrap, the vehicle is finished with Ford’s glossy agate black paint. —

Umar Shakir, The Verge, 24 Aug. 2023 Amrit wore a set of five chains adored with Ceylon stones, paired with a gold and agate choker and a diamond and agate necklace set constituting the seven chains a traditional Kandyan bride wears. —

Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 5 May 2022 To accessorize, Union wore a statement silver choker necklace adorned with a large polished agate plate pendant. —

Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 June 2023 With his trusty moon agate, McQuade won the Baltimore event at City Hall Plaza. —

Mike Klingaman, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'agate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English achates, accate, agaten, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French achate, agathe, borrowed from Latin achātēs, borrowed from Greek achā́tēs, of uncertain origin

Note: According to Theophrastus and Pliny, the stone was named after a river in Sicily. Modern etymologists seem disinclined to believe this and suggest that the river was named after the stone. The voiced stop in the medieval French forms, which has become the dominant form in Modern French and English, begins to appear in Medieval Latin, and may be owed to Medieval Latin agapis, a word of obscure origin used for both the agate and lapis lazuli; it has been suggested that agapis is itself a distortion of achates (crossed with Latin lapis "stone"?), though this is far from clear.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of agate was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century