# diamond

Pronunciation: say "DY-uh-muhnd" /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/

## Noun

1. A very hard, clear crystalline form of pure carbon, valued as a precious gemstone and used in cutting tools.
   - Simple: A very hard, clear, shiny stone that is very valuable and often used in jewelry.
   - _The appraiser examined the diamond under a bright lamp._
   - _Diamonds sold by reputable jewelers are typically graded for color and clarity._
3. A rhombus, especially one positioned so that its longer axis runs vertically.
   - Simple: A shape with four equal sides that stands on one of its corners.
   - _The road sign ahead was a yellow diamond with a black arrow pointing left._
   - _Fold the napkin into a diamond and set it point-up on the plate._
4. Something that resembles a diamond, whether in sparkle or in shape.
   - Simple: Anything that shines or is shaped like a diamond.
   - _The waterfall's spray threw diamonds into the morning sunlight._
   - _Far below, the city was a diamond of light against the dark coast._
5. In baseball, the infield marked out by the four bases, or the whole playing field.
   - Simple: The field where baseball is played, especially the square part with the bases.
   - _Groundskeepers spent the morning preparing the diamond for the doubleheader._
   - _By the seventh inning, fog covered the diamond from home plate to the outfield wall._
6. A playing card belonging to the suit whose symbol is a red, diamond-shaped figure.
   - Simple: A playing card from the suit marked with red diamond shapes.
   - _She led a low diamond, hoping her partner held the ace._
   - _Three diamonds appeared on the flop, and he started betting hard._
8. A ring set with a diamond.
   - Simple: A ring that has a diamond set in it.
   - _He returned the diamond to the jeweler after the engagement ended._
   - _She twisted the diamond around her finger nervously during the interview._
10. An open public square at the center of a town. *(dialectal, Pennsylvania, Western)*
   - Simple: An open space in the middle of a town where people meet and streets come together.
   - _A war memorial stands at the center of the diamond, where the town's two main streets cross._
   - _Shops and cafés around the diamond stay busy on market days._
11. The polyiamond made up of two equilateral triangles joined along a shared edge.
   - Simple: A shape made by joining two triangles with equal sides along one edge.
   - _Among polyiamonds, the diamond is the only shape made from exactly two triangles._
   - _Each tile in the floor pattern was a diamond built from two equilateral triangles._

## Adjective

2. Made of diamond, or set or tipped with one or more diamonds.
   - Simple: Made of diamond, or having one or more diamonds in it.
   - _Her diamond earrings caught the light every time she turned her head._
   - _Crews used a diamond blade to slice through the concrete slab._
7. Marking a sixtieth anniversary, or sometimes a seventy-fifth.
   - Simple: Used for celebrating 60 years, or sometimes 75 years, since something happened.
   - _Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee in 2012 marked sixty years on the throne._
   - _They renewed their vows at their diamond wedding anniversary, sixty years after the original ceremony._
9. Of the very best kind; excellent. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: Very good or excellent.
   - _My brother-in-law is a diamond bloke who drove three hours at midnight to jump-start my car._
   - _Our new neighbor is a diamond geezer who lends us his tools without being asked._

## Noun

12. A size of type between brilliant and pearl, standardized as four-and-a-half-point. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A very small size of printing type, used long ago for tiny text.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To deck something with diamonds, or make it glitter as though diamonds had been scattered over it.
- (noun) A very pale blue color.
- (noun) The heraldic color black (sable), in the system of blazoning arms by precious stones.

## Origin

Ancient Greek ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, "diamond") passed into Latin as adamās and Late Latin as diamās, then into Old French as diamant and Middle English as dyamaunt. Adamant is a doublet. In printing, the name of the type size is a calque of Dutch diamant, the term used by Dirck Voskens, who first cut that size around 1700.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/diamond (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).