emerald

noun em·er·ald \ ˈem-rəld , ˈe-mə- \

|Updated on: 6 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of emerald

1 : a rich green variety of beryl prized as a gemstone

2 : any of various green gemstones (such as synthetic corundum or demantoid)

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Recent Examples of emerald from the Web

Surrounded by the vibrant, emerald trees that give the city its nickname, Seattle’s Ravenna Woods seem like the perfect place for homeless people to build shelter without disrupting metropolitan life.

— dae shik kim hawkins, The Atlantic, "An App for Ejecting the Homeless," 28 June 2018
Tucked in the emerald backlands of Fayetteville, Georgia, inside a cavernous soundstage at Pinewood Studios, Mara Brock-Akil is in full field marshall mode.

— jason parham, WIRED, "How Oprah’s Network Finally Found Its Voice," 19 June 2018
Its cargo of gold, silver, and emeralds could be worth as much as $17 billion.

— CBS News, "Robot submarine finds "holy grail of shipwrecks" with up to $17 billion in treasure," 23 May 2018
The history of the ship The San José was a 62-gun, three-masted ship -- the flagship and largest galleon of a Spanish fleet carrying gold, silver and emerald from the mines of Potosi, Peru.

— lauren landrum, CNN, "Researchers offer new details how they found a 300-year-old ship that sank with $17 billion in treasure," 22 May 2018
Choose a timeless design with a modern twist, such as these emerald earrings.

— jessica vince, Harper's BAZAAR, "7 pieces of coloured gemstone jewellery every woman should own," 4 Dec. 2017
The announcement brought anxiety and uncertainty in Balmorhea, an oasis of emerald-green irrigated fields in an otherwise drab and dusty corner of Texas, about 360 miles from San Antonio.

— john maccormack, San Antonio Express-News, "Rash of earthquakes prompts fear of oil boom in Balmorhea," 15 June 2018
Just about 4 miles northwest of the busy shopping destination of Market Street sits an emerald-green gem.

— marialuisa rincon, Houston Chronicle, "Officials at W.G. Jones State Forest look toward future," 8 June 2018
The after image shows muddy debris inundated many of the structures and also much of the emerald-green fairways.

— Fox News, "Before-and-after images show Guatemala volcano's devastation," 7 June 2018

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

Did You Know?

Highly valued as gemstones, emeralds are a grass-green variety of beryl. The capacity of emeralds to deflect light and to break white light into its component colors is not high, so cut stones display little brilliancy or fire (flashes of color). The color that gives this gem its value comes from the presence of small amounts of chromium. The most important production of fine-quality gem material is Colombia; emeralds are also mined in Russia, Australia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Synthetic emeralds are identical to natural crystals and may rival them in color and beauty.

Origin and Etymology of emerald

Middle English emerallde, from Anglo-French esmeralde, from Vulgar Latin *smaralda, from Latin smaragdus, from Greek smaragdos — more at smaragd

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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