The beautiful word “Diamond”

By Margi Jenks

  Greeting from Crater of Diamonds State Park!  Have you ever wondered why we call these fascinating and frustrating minerals “diamonds”?

  The earliest diamonds are thought to have been found in India.  Therefore, they may have been called something completely different, in the Sanskrit language.  However, our English word “diamond” seems to have originated in two Ancient Greek words—“a,” meaning “to,” and “damazo,” which meant “subdue,” “overpower,” “tame,” or “conquer.” Later, these two words were combined into “adamao” or “adamas” and came to have a number of meanings, including “invincible,” “untamed,” and most important for us, “hard substance.”

  The Romans adapted the Greek word and spelled it “adamantem” or “adiamentem,” which came to mean “unbreakable.” Old French changed it to “diamante,” and beginning in the fifteenth century, it was further changed in Old English to “dyamaund,” “adamaund,” or the more poetic form “diamaund.” The modern word “diamond” probably originated in the mid-sixteenth century and took on the modern meaning of “a glimmering glass-like mineral” or “[a]n extremely hard, highly refractive crystalline form of carbon that is usually colorless and is used as a gemstone and in abrasives, cutting tools, and other applications” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, www.thefreedictionary.com).

Field Last Plowed:  February 25, 2009

Diamond Finds for March 9 - 15, 2009

March 9 - Kevin Steele, Ozark, MO, 23 pt. white

March 10 - Trent Warwas, Hondo, TX, 5 pt. white; Lauren Warwas, Hondo, TX, 5 pt. white; Zoe Zimmerman, San Antonio, TX, 6 pt. brown

March 12 - Billy Moore, Murfreesboro, AR, 6 pt. brown, 10 pt. white

March 14 - Gary Cole, Rogers, AR, 59 pt. white; Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 1 pt. white, 2 pt. yellow, 4 pt. white

March 15 - Denis Tyrrell, Bismarck, AR, 2 pt. white