amethyst
amethyst adj
OFr < L. < Gk a, not + mithu, wine = 'not drunken'; NW says: “from some supposed quality in the stone of resisting intoxication … from its color approaching that of wine, but not reaching it.”
- Violet-colored; clear crystalline purple; [fig.] cherished; dear; noble; precious; valuable.
amethyst n
see amethyst, adj.
- Purple-colored light; blue-violet colored light at sunrise or sunset; [NW says: a color in heraldry for a nobleman, gentleman, or prince's escutcheon.]