opal
/ˈoʊpəl/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.20 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
noun
A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
noun
The colour of opal: any shade of blue with bright flecks of other colours, such as white, yellow, and red.
noun
A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
noun
Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.
name
A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
name
A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
name
A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
Example Sentences
- "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.)"
- "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."
- "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."
- "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 of Opal."
- "Diesel is available at roughly 300km intervals on the WA side, as is Opal fuel which, at the Warburton and Warakuna roadhouses, can be used instead of unleaded petrol. (Opal is unsniffable, and its provision is one of the measures in place to counteract petrol-sniffing problems in local communities.)"
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: opale, opalus, ὀπάλλιος, उपल
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈoʊpəl/
- British English: /ˈəʊpəl/