diadem

See also: Diadem

English

Alternative forms

• diademe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English diademe, dyademe, from Old French diademe, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: dī'ədem, IPA^(key): /ˈdaɪ.əˌdɛm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪədɛm

Noun

diadem (plural diadems)

1. An ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty.
   • 2025 October 19, Angelique Chrisafis, “‘Priceless’ jewellery stolen from Louvre in raid by ‘experienced’ thieves”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The Apollon wing of the Louvre has a set of historic crowns, diadems and sovereign jewellery.

2. A crown.
   • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i:

     And vvhen the princely Perſean Diadem, / Shall ouervveigh his vvearie vvitleſſe head, / And fall like mellovved fruit, vvith ſhakes of death, / In faire Perſea noble Tamburlain / Shall be my Regent, and remaine as King:

   • c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas Millington, […], published 1594, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], signature A3, recto:

     I am his firſt borne ſonne, that vvas the laſt / That vvare the Imperiall Diademe of Rome, […]

   • 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:

     The fever’d diadem on my brow / I claim’d and won usurpingly— / Hath not the same fierce heirdom given / Rome to the Caesar—this to me?

3. Regal power; sovereignty; empire—considered as symbolized by the crown.
4. (heraldry) An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also of a coronet), and uniting with others over its centre.

Derived terms

• diadem lemur
• diadem monkey
• diadem spider

Translations

ornamental headband

• Arabic: ديادم m
• Bulgarian: диадема (bg) f (diadema)
• Catalan: diadema (ca) f
• Czech: diadém (cs) m
• Danish: diadem n
• Dutch: diadeem (nl) m
• Esperanto: diademo
• Estonian: diadeem
• Finnish: diadeemi (fi)
• French: diadème (fr) m
• Georgian: დიადემა (ka) (diadema)
• German: Diadem (de) n
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἄμπυξ m or f (ámpux)

• Hebrew: עֲטָרָה (he) f ('atará)
• Hungarian: fejék (hu)
• Icelandic: ennishlað n, höfuðdjásn n
• Irish: mionn (ríoga) m
• Italian: diadema (it) m
• Japanese: ダイアデム
• Malay: bogam (ms)
• Persian: دیهیم (fa) (deyhim)

  Middle Persian: dydym (dīdēm) (Manichaean)

• Polish: diadem (pl) m
• Portuguese: diadema (pt) m
• Romanian: diademă (ro) f
• Russian: диаде́ма (ru) f (diadéma)
• Sicilian: taddema, diadima
• Spanish: diadema (es) f
• Swedish: diadem (sv) n
• Tagalog: diyadema
• Ukrainian: діаде́ма f (diadéma)
• Yiddish: דיאַדעמע f (dyademe)

crown

• Bulgarian: корона (bg) f (korona)
• Finnish: kruunu (fi)
• French: couronne (fr) f, diadème (fr) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: διάδημα n (diádēma)

• Irish: mionn (ríoga) m
• Italian: corona (it) f, diadema (it) m
• Malay: mahkota
• Persian: دیهیم (fa)

  Middle Persian: 𐭣𐭩𐭣𐭩𐭬𐭩 (dydymy)

• Portuguese: diadema (pt) m
• Sicilian: cruna, diadima
• Swedish: krona (sv) c

regal power

• Finnish: kruunu (fi)
• French: couronne (fr) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Diadem (de) n
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} diadema (it) m
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} diadema f
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} diadema (es) f

Verb

diadem (third-person singular simple present diadems, present participle diademming or diademing, simple past and past participle diademmed or diademed)

1. To adorn with a diadem; to crown.

   Antonym: undiadem

   • 1902, Horace G. Platt, “California”, in Harr Wagner, editor, Notable Speeches by Notable Speakers of the Greater West, San Francisco, Calif.: The Whitaker and Ray Company (Incorporated), page 215:

     The star of her destiny is the morning star of the new-born century. O’er the Golden Gate it glitters, diademming this youthful Queen of the Pacific in her robes of freedom gorgeously inlaid with gold.

   • 1920 January, G. J. Rousseau, “The Grace of Liberality”, in The Homiletic Review: An International Magazine of Religion, Theology, and Philosophy; Treats Every Phase of the Minister’s Work, volume LXXIX, number 1, New York, N.Y.; London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, section “Sermonic Literature”, page 72, column 1:

     Paul cites as an example the Macedonian churches and mentions specifically several things about their liberality which adorn their grace and crown it with beauty as the lily work diademmed the pillars of the Temple.

   • 1921, Linwood Taft, “Historic Festival and Pageant”, in The Technique of Pageantry, New York, N.Y.: A. S. Barnes and Company, part II, page 143:

     From many lands and from far distant climes have come great men and women to rest within our heart and to do great deeds and shape the noble events that have diademmed our crown with stars of splendor.

   • 1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC, part II, page 353:

     butt (maomant scoffin, but apoxyomenously deturbaned but thems bleachin banes will be after making a bashman’s haloday out of the euphorious hagiohygiecynicism of his die and be diademmed).

   • 1987, The Armenian Review, page 6:

     Vardan, brave champion [or, “martyr”] who routed the enemy,
     You diademmed the Church in your rosy blood.

Anagrams

• Maddie, ad idem, mediad

Danish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma, “band, especially worn around a tiara”), from διαδέω (diadéō, “bind around”).

Noun

diadem n (singular definite diademet, plural indefinite diademer)

1. diadem, tiara

Declension

Declension of diadem

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	diadem	diademet	diademer	diademerne
genitive	diadems	diademets	diademers	diademernes

References

• “diadem” in Den Danske Ordbog

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French diadème, from Latin diadēma, from Ancient Greek διάδημα (diádēma), from διαδέω (diadéō, “to bind around”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdja.dɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -adɛm
• Syllabification: dia‧dem

Noun

diadem m inan

1. diadem (ornamental headband)

Declension

Declension of diadem

	singular	plural
nominative	diadem	diademy
genitive	diademu	diademów
dative	diademowi	diademom
accusative	diadem	diademy
instrumental	diademem	diademami
locative	diademie	diademach
vocative	diademie	diademy

Further reading

• “diadem”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “diadem”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Romanian

Noun

diadem n (plural diademe)

1. alternative form of diademă

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	diadem	diademul	diademe	diademele
genitive-dative	diadem	diademului	diademe	diademelor
vocative	diademule		diademelor

Swedish

Noun

diadem n

1. diadem, tiara

Declension

Declension of diadem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	diadem	diadems
	definite	diademet	diademets
plural	indefinite	diadem	diadems
	definite	diademen	diademens

References

• “diadem”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “diadem”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “diadem”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)