Where does “emerald” come from?

Emerald comes from Middle English emeraude, from Old French esmeraude, from Latin smaraldus and smaragdus, from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος, a word for the green gemstone.

emerald (English): Any of various green gemstones, especially a...

Definitions

  1. Any of various green gemstones, especially a...

Ancestry of “emerald”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishemeraudeemerald
2Old Frenchesmeraudeemerald
3Vulgar Latinsmaralda—
4Latinsmaragdusemerald
5Ancient Greekσμάραγδοςemerald
6Proto-Semiticbariq-lightning

Words derived from “emerald”

Every word from Proto-Semitic bariq- →Every word from Ancient Greek σμάραγδος →Every word from Latin smaragdus →