sardonyx

English

Polished sardonyx

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sardonyx.

Noun

sardonyx (countable and uncountable, plural sardonyxes)

1. A gemstone having bands of red sard; a variety of onyx or chalcedony.
   • Bible, Revelation xxi. 20

     The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

   • 1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians, page 40:

     The large chalice at right is carved from a single chunk of sardonyx, a kind of onyx. Its gilded rim and base are decorated with tiny enamels depicting a host of popular saints, including Nicephorus (farthest left on rim), a Ninth Century patriarch and opponent of a religious movement to destroy icons.

2. (heraldry) A tincture of sanguine colour when the blazoning is done by precious stones.

Translations

gemstone banded with red sard

• German: Sardonyx m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: σαρδόνυξ m (sardónux)

• Italian: sardonice f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: sardonyx m or f
• Maori: hararonika
• Spanish: sardónix m or f, sardónice m or f, sardónica (es) f

Further reading

• sardonyx on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek σαρδόνυξ m (sardónux).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsar.do.nyks/, [ˈs̠ärd̪ɔnʏks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsar.do.niks/, [ˈsärd̪oniks]

Noun

sardonyx m or f (genitive sardonychos or sardonychis); third declension

1. sardonyx

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, normal variant or non-Greek-type).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sardonyx	sardonyches sardonychēs
Genitive	sardonychos sardonychis	sardonychum
Dative	sardonychī	sardonychibus
Accusative	sardonycha sardonychem	sardonychas sardonychēs
Ablative	sardonyche	sardonychibus
Vocative	sardonyx	sardonyches sardonychēs

Derived terms

• sardonycha
• sardonychātus
• sardonychus

Descendants

• English: sardonyx
• Italian: sardonice

References

• “sardŏnyx”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sardonyx”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sardŏnyx in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,393/1.
• “sardonyx”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
• “sardonyx” on page 1,691/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)