Opal Meaning

/ˈəʊpəl/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.

nounA mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O., A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)

Is that an opal in your ring?
An opal is a form of silicon.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The jeweler examined the rainbow colors in the ____ under the light.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ring was set with a beautiful ____ that shimmered with blue and green hues in the sunlight.

In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”). Distantly related to over.

"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.)" — 2012 March 26, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128:
"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." — 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 141:
"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." — 1985, Alice Munro, The Progress of Love, Chatto&Windus, published 1987, →ISBN, page 208:
"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." — 2006, Paul Malone, Taking the ‘Hospital Pass’ – Jane Halton, Department of Health and Ageing: Australian Department Heads Under Howard - Career Paths and Practice, page 131:
"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.)" — 2007, Terry Carter, Lara Dunston, Perth & Western Australia, Lonely Planet, page 163:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The jeweler examined the rainbow colors in the ____ under the light.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ring was set with a beautiful ____ that shimmered with blue and green hues in the sunlight.

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