Gem Meaning
/d͡ʒɛm/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
nounAny precious or highly valued thing or person.
Sentence Examples
At last, the gem was in his hands.
It's not as if just anybody can write a literary gem.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The jeweler set the sparkling ____ in a silver ring.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
That small, locally-owned restaurant is a real ____, serving some of the best food in the entire city.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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;"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 144:
"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."
— 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]:
"[…] then silent Night
With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon,
And these the Gemms of Heav’n, her starrie train:"
— 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:
"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."
— 2012 March 26, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128:
"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."
— 2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The Onion AV Club:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The jeweler set the sparkling ____ in a silver ring.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
That small, locally-owned restaurant is a real ____, serving some of the best food in the entire city.