opal

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a translucent mineral consisting of hydrated silica of variable color; some varieties are used as gemstones

Etymology

In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”). Distantly related to over.

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