opal
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opal¹
- /ˈəʊpəl/ UK
- /ˈoʊpəl/ US
Rhymes with -əʊpəl
Where it comes from
In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Medieval Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”). Distantly related to over.
noun opals
- A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O. 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.)
- A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
- The colour of opal: any shade of blue with bright flecks of other colours, such as white, yellow, and red. The witchery of the dawn turned the grey river-reaches to purple, gold, and opal; and it was as though the lumbering dhoni crept across the splendors of a new heaven.
- A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
- Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.
Opal²
proper noun
- A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century. Perhaps to console herself for the bad luck she had already suffered, in a back corner of South Sherbrooke Township - or perhaps to make up, ahead of time, for a lack of motherly feelings - she gave the girls the fanciest names she could think of: Opal Violet, Dawn Rose, and Bonnie Hope.
- A female given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
- A male given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
- A type of petrol made by British Petroleum designed to be unable to be used for petrol sniffing. Halton says, for example, that if there are bylaws that prohibit trafficking in fuel in a community where the non-sniffable petrol, Opal, had been introduced it would be the job of the local police to enforce the law. Her department, on the other hand, was dealing with the issue of the availability
- A hamlet in Alberta, Canada.
- A census-designated place in Virginia.
- A town in Wyoming.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: moonstone, hyalite, menilite, girasol, geyserite, gemstone, gem, roa, phytoliths, silicon dioxide, semiopal, sonolite, opaline, aluminosilicate, quartz, palmierite
Translations
Every language
noun a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity
| Español | ópalo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 오팔 opal, 단백석 danbaekseok |
| 日本語 | オパール opāru |
| 中文 | 蛋白石 dànbáishí, 歐泊 /欧泊 ōubó |
| Português | opala |
| Français | opale |
| Deutsch | Opal |
| Italiano | opale |
| Ελληνικά | οπάλι opáli |
| Română | opal |
| Русский | опа́л opál |
| Tiếng Việt | opan, ngọc mắt mèo, miêu nhãn thạch |
| العربية | أُوبَال ʔubāl |
| עברית | לֶשֶׁם léshem |
Talk about this word "opal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/opal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. opal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/opal "opal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/opal.Cite this
@misc{opal_2026,
title = {opal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/opal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
