[edit]English Wikipedia has an article on:sapphireWikipedia English Wikipedia has an article on:sapphire (disambiguation)Wikipedia A sapphire (sense 1)
Etymology
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From Middle Englishsaphir, from Old Frenchsaphir, from Latinsapphir, sappir, sapphīrus,[1] from Ancient Greekσάπφειρος(sáppheiros, “precious stone, gem”),[2][3] from a Semitic language such as Hebrewסַפִּיר(sappī́r, “lapis lazuli”),[4] originally from Assyrian Akkadianšipirtu(“lapis lazuli”).
Pronunciation
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(UK) IPA(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
(US) IPA(key): /ˈsæf.aɪ̯ɚ/
Audio (US):
(file)
Hyphenation: sap‧phire
Noun
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sapphire (countable and uncountable, plural sapphires)
(countable) A clear deep blue variety of corundum, valued as a precious stone.
2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 June 2012, 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.
(countable and uncountable) A white, yellow, or purple variety of corundum, either clear or translucent.
(countable and uncountable) A deep blue colour. sapphire:
(heraldry)Azure, when blazoning by precious stones.
1720, Francis Nichols, Rudiments of Honour, page 296:Elgin. Topaz a Saltier and Chief Ruby, on a Canton Pearl a Lyon Rampant Saphyr, which last is their paternal Coat; […]
1726, John Guillim, The Banner Display'd; Or, an Abridgment of Guillim, page 504:3. Saphire, ten Bezants, 4, 3, 2, 1, by the Bisset.
1754, John Lodge, The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the ..., page 71:(2) Topaz, a Chief Indented, Saphire.
1756, Francis Nichols, The Irish Compendium, Or, Rudiments of Honour, Containing the Descent, Marriage, Isssue, Titles, Posts, and Seats, of All the Nobility of Ireland..., page 440:Topaz, on a Cross, Sapphire, a Crosier thrust through a Mitre, Topaz.
(countable) Any hummingbird in the genera Hylocharis and Chlorestes, as well as the rufous-throated sapphire, which is now in the genus Amazilia.
Any of the butterflies in the southern Asian lycaenid genus Heliophorus or the African lycaenid genus Iolaus.
sapphire (comparative more sapphire, superlative most sapphire)
of a deep blue colour.
1927, Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon, E.P. Dutton & Co., page 33:At about eleven, we uncaged our pigeons, who flew away into the sapphire sky that hung like a sail from the white peaks.
2025 November 8, The Associated Press, “Trump says boat crews are narco-terrorists. The truth is more nuanced, AP finds”, in NPR:They awoke to panoramic views of a national park's tropical forests, the Gulf of Paria's shallows and the Caribbean's sparkling sapphire waters.
pertaining to a 45th year
Derived terms
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(45 years):
sapphire anniversary
sapphire jubilee
Translations
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Chinese: Mandarin: 蓝宝石 (zh)(lán bǎoshí)
Dutch: saffierblauw (nl), saffierblauwe (nl)
Finnish: safiirinsininen
French: saphir (fr)m or f
Georgian: საფირისფერი(sapirisperi)(neologism)
German: saphirblau (de), strahlend blau(sky)
Greek: ζαφειρένιος (el)(zafeirénios)
Icelandic: safírblár
Japanese: サファイア色(safaiairo)
Norwegian: safirblå
Polish: szafirowy (pl)m
Swedish: safirblå (sv)
Turkish: safir mavisi (tr)
See also
[edit] bluesedit
Alice blue
aqua
aquamarine
azure
baby blue
beryl
bice
bice blue
blueberry
blue green
blue violet
cadet blue
Cambridge blue
Carolina blue
cerulean
cobalt blue
Copenhagen blue
cornflower
cornflower blue
cyan
dark blue
Dodger blue
duck-egg blue
Duke blue
eggshell blue
electric blue
gentian blue
ice blue
lapis lazuli
light blue
lovat
mazarine
midnight blue
navy
Nile blue
Oxford blue
peacock blue
petrol blue
postal blue
powder blue
Prussian blue
robin's-egg blue
royal blue
sapphire
saxe blue
sky blue
slate blue
teal
turquoise
ultramarine
Wedgwood blue
zaffre
Sapphire
Further reading
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David Barthelmy (1997–2026), “Sapphire”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
“sapphire”, in Mindat.org, Keswick, Va.: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2026.
^ “sapphīrus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
^ “σάπφειρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
^ G4552 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
^ H5601 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Anagrams
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paperish, papisher
Latin
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Noun
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sapphīref
vocative singular of sapphīrus
References
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“sapphire”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
