gem
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /d͡ʒɛm/
ipa: /d͡ʒɪm/
rhymes: -ɛm
Forms: form: gems
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: And on her head she wore a tyre of gold,
Adornd with gemmes and owches wondrous fayre,
Whose passing price vneath was to be told;
ref: 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 144:
text: 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.
ref: c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
text: […] then silent Night
With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon,
And these the Gemms of Heav’n, her starrie train:
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 647-649:
text: 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.
ref: 2012 March 23, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128:
glosses: A precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
examples: text: She's an absolute gem.
text: 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.
ref: 2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The Onion AV Club:
glosses: Any precious or highly valued thing or person.
examples: text: a gem of wit
glosses: 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.
examples: text: 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,
Then from the Joynts of thy prolifick Stemm
A swelling Knot is raised (call’d a Gemm)
text: Among the crooked Lanes, on every Hedge, / The Glow-Worm lights his Gem […].
ref: a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:
text: 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,
In about twelve days the sprouts from the gems of the planted cane are seen […]
glosses: A gemma or leaf bud.
glosses: A geometrid moth of the species Orthonama obstipata.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A package containing programs or libraries for the Ruby programming language.
topics: media
printing
publishing
glosses: A size of type between brilliant (4-point) and diamond (4½-point), running 222 lines to the foot.
examples: 2025, Associated Press, Crochet gets 1st career shutout and complete game as Red Sox beat Rays for 9th straight win by Associated Press,
He didn’t walk a batter in his 100-pitch gem
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A strong, dominating pitching performance.
related: word: gemmy
antonyms: coal
brimstone
glosses: Internet content of good quality.
Synonyms: sense: precious stone
word: gemstone
word: jewel
word: precious stone
word: gemstone
Derived terms: begem
cardinal gem
gem clip
Gem County
gemcutter
gem-cutter
gem cutter
gem-diol
gem-diolate
gem-disubstituent effect
gemerald
gem-faced civet
gemfish
gem-hydrogenation
gemless
gemlike
gemmer
gemmery
gemmy
gemology
gemsetter
gemsetting
gemsmith
gemsona
Gem State
gemstone
gem tree
gemwork
gemwright
hidden gem
iced gem
mountaingem
plasma gem
Zanzibar gem