beryl

IPA/ˈberəl/
KK[bˈɛrəl]IPA/ˈberəl/

beryl — noun

1. a hard mineral that may be clear, blue, green, yellow, or pink, and is often cut

1.nounC2
Definition

a hard mineral that may be clear, blue, green, yellow, or pink, and is often cut and polished for jewellery

Example

Noor held the beryl up to the lamp to check its pale blue color.

hold beryl up to the light

At the museum, Manuela stopped beside a case of rough beryl from Brazil.

Common collocations
  • rough beryl
  • blue beryl / green beryl / golden beryl
  • beryl crystal
  • vein of beryl
  • cut beryl into a gem
Synonyms
  • gemstone

    broader — any stone cut and polished for jewellery, not only beryl

  • crystal

    broader — can refer to many minerals with a regular solid structure

  • emerald

    narrower — the rich green gemstone variety of beryl

Usage Note

Beryl is usually uncountable when people mean the mineral in general, but jewellers and geologists also use a/an beryl for one crystal or stone. Emerald and aquamarine are valuable varieties of beryl.

Common Mistakes

Emerald and beryl are two completely different minerals.
Emerald is a green variety of beryl.
Emerald is one type of beryl, not a separate mineral family.
The pendant is made of beryllium.
The pendant has a beryl stone.
Beryllium is the metal element; beryl is the mineral that contains it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Beryl, gemstone, crystal, and emerald overlap but are not identical. Beryl names a mineral family. When a piece of beryl is clear and attractive enough to cut and polish, it can be called a gemstone, but not every piece of beryl is gem quality. Crystal is broader still: it can refer to many minerals that form regular solid shapes, so quartz and salt are crystals too. Emerald is narrower: it is the rich green variety of beryl, not a separate mineral family. In practice, a museum label may say 'beryl crystal' for the raw mineral, while a jeweller may describe a cut, high-quality piece as an emerald or another beryl gem.

beryl ↗gemstone ↗crystal ↗emerald ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • piece of beryl
  • vein of beryl
  • green beryl
  • golden beryl

Etymology

GreekLatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'beryl' came into English through Old French and Latin from Greek 'beryllos', the name of a pale blue-green precious stone. English later kept it as the name of the mineral group that includes stones such as emerald and aquamarine.