gem
TranslingualEdit
SymbolEdit
gem
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Inherited from Middle English gemme, gimme, yimme, ȝimme, from Old English ġimm, from Proto-West Germanic *gimmu (“gem”) and Old French gemme (“gem”), both from Latin gemma (“a swelling bud; jewel, gem”). Doublet of gemma and Gemma.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
gem (countable and uncountable, plural gems)
- A precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 144:
- c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s VVell, that Ends VVell”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
- Of six preceding ancestors, that gem,
Conferr’d by testament to the sequent issue,
Hath it been owed and worn. This is his wife;
That ring’s a thousand proofs.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 647-649:
- […] then silent Night
With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon,
And these the Gemms of Heav’n, her starrie train:
- 2012 March 1, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist[1], 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.
- (figuratively) Any precious or highly valued thing or person.
- She's an absolute gem.
- 2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The Onion AV Club[2]:
- Standout “Hidden Knives” is the kind of new wave-leaning punk gem John Hughes would’ve loved, while “So Beneath You” is a teeth-baring, roiling tune.
- Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, such as a small picture, a verse of poetry, or an epigram.
- a gem of wit
- (obsolete) A gemma or leaf-bud.
- c. 1668, John Denham (translator), Of Old Age by Cato the Elder, Part 3, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: H. Herringman, 4th edition, 1773, p. 35,[3]
- Then from the Joynts of thy prolifick Stemm
- A swelling Knot is raised (call’d a Gemm)
- 1727, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:
- Among the crooked Lanes, on every Hedge, / The Glow-Worm lights his Gem […] .
- 1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xcii,[4]
- In about twelve days the sprouts from the gems of the planted cane are seen […]
- c. 1668, John Denham (translator), Of Old Age by Cato the Elder, Part 3, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: H. Herringman, 4th edition, 1773, p. 35,[3]
- A type of geometrid moth, Orthonama obstipata.
- (computing) A package containing programs or libraries for the Ruby programming language.
- (uncountable, printing, uncommon, obsolete) A size of type between brilliant (4-point) and diamond (4½-point), running 222 lines to the foot.
SynonymsEdit
- (precious stone): gemstone, jewel, precious stone; see also Thesaurus:gemstone
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
precious stone
|
precious or highly valued thing or person
|
obsolete: gemma — see gemma
type of geometrid moth
VerbEdit
gem (third-person singular simple present gems, present participle gemming, simple past and past participle gemmed)
- (transitive) To adorn with, or as if with, gems.
- 1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Canto I”, in Queen Mab; […], London: […] P. B. Shelley, […], →OCLC, page 6:
- [T]he fair star / That gems the glittering coronet of morn, / Sheds not a light so mild, so powerful, / As that which, bursting from the Fairy's form, / Spread a purpureal halo round the scene, / Yet with an undulating motion, / Swayed to her outline gracefully.
- 1827, Various, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10,[5]:
- A few bright and beautiful stars gemmed the wide concave of heaven […] .
- 1872, J. Fenimore Cooper, The Bravo[6]:
- Above was the firmament, gemmed with worlds, and sublime in immensity.
- 1920, John Freeman, Poems New and Old[7]:
- The rain Shook from fruit bushes in new showers again As I brushed past, and gemmed the window pane.
SynonymsEdit
See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
AlbanianEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
Together with gemb, a phonetic variant of gjemb.[1]
NounEdit
gem m
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Orel, Vladimir (1998) Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 112
CimbrianEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- ghèban (Sette Comuni)
EtymologyEdit
From Middle High German geben, from Old High German geban, from Proto-West Germanic *geban, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną.
Cognate with German geben, Dutch geven, obsolete English yive, Icelandic gefa.
VerbEdit
gem (strong class 5, auxiliary håm)
ReferencesEdit
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
DanishEdit
VerbEdit
gem
- imperative of gemme
MeriamEdit
NounEdit
gem
PolishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from English game, from Middle English game, gamen, gammen, from Old English gamen (“sport, joy, mirth, pastime, game, amusement, pleasure”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaman, from Proto-Germanic *gamaną (“amusement, pleasure, game”), from *ga- (collective prefix) + *mann- (“man”); or alternatively from *ga- + a root from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think, have in mind”).
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
gem m inan
DeclensionEdit
Declension of gem
Further readingEdit
RomanianEdit
Etymology 1Edit
NounEdit
gem n (plural gemuri)
- jam (sweet mixture of fruit boiled with sugar)
DeclensionEdit
Declension of gem
Etymology 2Edit
VerbEdit
gem
- inflection of geme:
SwedishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
The paper clip's most common design was originally thought to be made by The Gem Manufacturing Company in Britain in the 1870s.[1] More at paper clip.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
gem n
DeclensionEdit
| Declension of gem | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | gem | gemet | gem | gemen |
| Genitive | gems | gemets | gems | gemens |
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
gem n
- alternative spelling of game
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Petroski, Henry: "Polishing the Gem: A First-Year Design Project", Journal of Engineering Education, October 1998, p. 445
VolapükEdit
EtymologyEdit
Perhaps borrowed from French germain.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
gem (nominative plural gems)
- sibling
- 1949, "Lifajenäd brefik cifala: ‚Jakob Sprenger‛", in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, issue 4, 13-14.
- ‚Jakob‛ äbinom cil mälid se gems vel: blods lul e sörs tel.
- Jakob was the sixth child out of seven siblings: five brothers and two sisters.
- ‚Jakob‛ äbinom cil mälid se gems vel: blods lul e sörs tel.
- 1949, "Lifajenäd brefik cifala: ‚Jakob Sprenger‛", in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, issue 4, 13-14.
DeclensionEdit
declension of gem