onyx
English
Etymology
Before 1300 as onix, in about 1250 as oneche, from Old French oniche or onix, or from Latin onyx, from Greek ὄνυξ (onyx).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈɔnɪks/
Noun
onyx (countable and uncountable; plural onyxes)
- (mineralogy) A banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
Translations
a banded variety of chalcedony
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Adjective
onyx (not comparable)
- jet-black
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)[1], Genesis, 2:12
- And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, chapter 3/7/2, “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[2]:
- There was no moon, only stars set brilliantly in the soft black onyx of the sky : a black night and very silent on Cimiez ; and a black and silent prospect from the verandah […]
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible (Authorized Version)[1], Genesis, 2:12
See also
References
- ^ Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, Robert K. Barnhart (ed.), Chambers, 1988
Latin
Noun
onyyx (genitive onychis); f, third declension
Inflection
| Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | onyx | onychēs |
| genitive | onychis | onychum |
| dative | onychī | onychibus |
| accusative | onychem | onychēs |
| ablative | onyche | onychibus |
| vocative | onyx | onychēs |