diamond: [13] Diamond is an alteration of adamant, a rather archaic term which nowadays refers to hard substances in general, but formerly was also used specifically for ‘diamond’. The alteration appears to have come about in Latin of post-classical times: adamant- (stem of Latin adamas) evidently became Vulgar Latin *adimant- (source of French aimant ‘magnet’), which appears to have opened the way to confusion, or at least association, with words beginning dia-. The result was medieval Latin diamant-, which passed into English via Old French diamant. => adamant
diamond (n.)
early 14c., from Old French diamant, from Medieval Latin diamantem (nominative diamas), from Vulgar Latin *adiamantem (altered by influence of the many Greek words in dia-), from Latin adamantem (nominative adamans) "the hardest metal," later, "diamond" (see adamant). Playing card suit is from 1590s; Sense in baseball is American English, 1875.
实用例句
1. The cut of a diamond depends on the skill of its craftsman.
钻石切割靠的是工匠的技艺。来自柯林斯例句
2. The diamond towns are gradually being reclaimed by the desert.
这些钻石城镇正逐渐重归沙漠。来自柯林斯例句
3. In industry, diamond can form a tough, non-corrosive coating for tools.
