sapphire

Borrowed from Old French saphir, from Latin sapphir, sappir, sapphīrus,[1] from Ancient Greek σάπφειρος (sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”),[2][3] from a Semitic language (compare Hebrew סַפִּיר‎ (sappī́r)[4]), perhaps ultimately from a non-Semitic source such as Sanskrit शनिप्रिय (śanipriya, “dark-colored stone”, literally “dear to Saturn”)[5].

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ɚ/

• Audio (US)

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• Hyphenation: sap‧phire

sapphire (countable and uncountable, plural sapphires)

1. (countable) A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
   • 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 diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.

2. (countable and uncountable) A white, yellow, or purple variety of corundum, either clear or translucent.
3. (countable and uncountable) A deep blue colour.

   sapphire colour:  

4. (countable) A type of South American hummingbird (Chlorestes notata) also called blue-chinned sapphire.

   The blue-chinned sapphire can be found many parts of South America, depending on season.

5. Any of the butterflies in the southern Asian lycaenid genus Heliophorus

• corundum

sapphire (comparative more sapphire, superlative most sapphire)

1. of a deep blue colour.
2. pertaining to a 45th year

(45 years):

• sapphire anniversary
• sapphire jubilee

• (blues) blue; Alice blue, aqua, aquamarine, azure, baby blue, beryl, bice, bice blue, blue green, blue violet, blueberry, cadet blue, Cambridge blue, cerulean, cobalt blue, Copenhagen blue, cornflower, cornflower blue, cyan, Dodger blue, duck-egg blue, eggshell blue, electric-blue, gentian blue, ice blue, lapis lazuli, lovat, mazarine, midnight blue, navy, Nile blue, Oxford blue, peacock blue, petrol blue, powder blue, Prussian blue, robin's-egg blue, royal blue, sapphire, saxe blue, slate blue, sky blue, teal, turquoise, ultramarine, Wedgwood blue, zaffre ^{(Category: en:Blues)}
• Sapphire

• “Sapphire” in David Barthelmy, Webmineral Mineralogy Database, 1997–.
• “sapphire”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed 29 August 2016.

• paperish, papisher

sapphīre f

1. vocative singular of sapphīrus

• sapphire in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers