Definition of AGATE

Examples of agate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of my biggest jewelry regrets is not buying a white agate and spinel ring designed by her 15 years ago. — Stellene Volandes, Town & Country, "Masterpiece London Has the Best Jewels in the World," 28 June 2019 The exhibition includes fine examples of Verrocchio’s metalwork (an agate vase with silver mountings and a magnificent bronze candelabrum) and a roomful of drawings, which is an impressive assemblage given the paucity of his drawings. — Washington Post, "The first major U.S. show devoted to the artist who helped forge Leonardo da Vinci’s genius," 12 Sep. 2019 My eyes light up at sparkly chunks of raw crystals, and patiently the owners tell me about the purported healing energies of tiger's eye, rose quartz, and agate. — Andrea Bartz, Redbook, "Why I Stopped Waiting for a Partner & Started Traveling the World," 10 Aug. 2017 Some countertops have become not only the focal point of a room but a piece of art for the home, such as a glass top that has an artist’s work embedded in it, or an agate piece backlit with semiprecious stones. — Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, "Countertops Limited Only by Your Budget and Imagination," 26 Dec. 2018 Hit the beach and hunt for clams, sea glass, and agate pieces at low tide, and splash around at high tide. — Kristi Valentini, Redbook, "The No-Fly, All-Fun Vacation," 13 July 2017 Pictured above: Hemmerle emerald, agate, and sapphire necklace; diamond and bronze bangle, and earrings, all with ancient Egyptian faiance amulets. — Stellene Volandes, Town & Country, "The Secret Global Network of Private Super Jewelers," 20 Sep. 2018 Photo: Allied Kitchen & Bath Agate Homeowners who want an exotic look often turn to agate. — Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, "Countertops Limited Only by Your Budget and Imagination," 26 Dec. 2018 Some designers go further, opting to showcase the agate by backlighting it with LED lights. — Robyn A. Friedman, WSJ, "Countertops Limited Only by Your Budget and Imagination," 26 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for agate

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.

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