amethyst

From Middle English ametist, from Old French ametiste (French améthyste), from Ancient Greek ἀμέθυστος (améthustos, “not drunk”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μεθύω (methúō, “I am drunk”), from μέθυ (méthu, “wine”). The Greeks believed that the amethyst prevented intoxication.

• IPA^(key): /ˈæm.ə.θɪst/

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amethyst (plural amethysts)

1. A transparent purple variety of quartz, used as a gemstone.
   • 2012 March 1, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, page 128:

     Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)

2. (uncountable) A purple colour.

   amethyst colour:  

3. (heraldry) The purple tincture when emblazoning the arms of the English nobility.

amethyst (comparative more amethyst, superlative most amethyst)

1. Having a colour similar to that of the gemstone

• Appendix:Colors

• “Amethyst” in David Barthelmy, Webmineral Mineralogy Database, 1997–.
• “amethyst”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed 29 August 2016.
• The Manual of Heraldry, Fifth Edition, by Anonymous, London, 1862, online at