beryl
(ˈbɛrɪl)
Forms: 3–4, 6– beryl; 4, 7–9 beril; also 4–6 beryll, 4–5 -ylle, 5 -ille, -ile, -yle, -al, -el, -ell, birell, 5–6 berall, birrall, byral, byrrall, 5–7 berill, byrall(e, 6 berral, birall, 8 berryl; Sc. 5–6 berial, -iall, -yall, 6 bureall.
[a. OF. beryl, beril:—L. bēryllus, a. Gr. βήρυλλος, prob. a foreign word; identified by Weber with Skr. vaidūrya. Cf. also Arab. and Pers. ballūr crystal. In med.L. berillus was applied also to crystal, and to an eyeglass or spectacles, whence MHG. berille, mod.G. brille spectacles: cf. branch II.]
A. n. I. literal.
1. a. A transparent precious stone of a pale-green colour passing into light-blue, yellow, and white; distinguished only by colour from the more precious emerald. When of pale bluish green it is called an aquamarine; its yellow or yellowish varieties are the chrysoberyl, and, perhaps, the chrysoprase, and chrysolite of the ancients. (The name is used in early literature without scientific precision: it is also doubtful if the ‘beryl’ of the Old Testament is correctly identified.)
| c 1305 Land of Cokayne 92 Beril, onix, topasiune. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xxi. 20 The eiȝthe . berillus. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. xx. (1495) 559 Beryll is a stone of Ynde lyke in grene colour to Smaragde. 1459 Test. Ebor. (1855) II. 229 Duos lapides de byrral. 1488 Invent. in Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) II. 391 A ruby, a diamant, twa uther ringis, a berial. Ibid. A berial hingand at it. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. i. Wks. 137/1 Some white safyre or byrall. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 613 Many are of opinion, that Berils are of the same nature that the Emeraud. 1811 Pinkerton Petral. I. 41 No one has supposed that berils are produced by fire. 1817 R. Jameson Char. Min. 107 The hexahedral prism occurs in beryl. 1861 C. King Ant. Gems (1866) 38 The Beryl is of little value at our present day. |
b. In this sense beryl-stone was often used.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 102 Take a berille-ston and holde it in a cleer sonne. c 1475 Gloss. in Wright Voc. 256, Hic berellus, a berelle ston. 1611 Bible Ezek. x. 9 The appearance of the wheeles was as the colour of a Berill stone. 1881 Rossetti Rose Mary i. ii, You've read the stars in the Beryl-stone. |
† c. fig. Applied in admiration to a woman; cf. gem, jewel, pearl. Obs.
| c 1440 York Myst. xxv. 505 Hayll! rose ruddy! hayll birrall clere. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 958 Now godamercy, berel brytest of bewte! c 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 132 Fair ladye Sensualitie, The beriall of all bewtie, And portratour preclair. |
2. Min. A mineral species including not only the beryl of the lapidary in all its sub-varieties, but also the emerald, a variety of the beryl, distinguished by the presence of oxide of chromium, to which it owes the deep rich colour, named from it emerald-green. Beryl is a silicate of aluminium and glucinum, and occurs only crystalline, usually in hexagonal prisms.
| 1837 Dana Min. (1868) 246 Beryls of gigantic dimensions have been found in the United States..one beryl from Grafton weighs 2,900 lbs. 1863 Watts Dict. Chem. I. 582 Beryls are found in various parts of the world: the finest emeralds come from Peru. |
II. transf.
† 3. a. A fine description of crystal or glass, used for vases, caskets, etc., and for glazing windows.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 1288 And oft I mused longe while Upon these walles of berile. c 1430 Lydg. in Dom. Archit. III. 121 The worke of wyndowe & eke fenestrall Wrouȝte of beryle. 1528 MS. List Jewelry, Another coffer of byrall, stonding upon lyons. 1530 Palsgr. 197/2 Berall, fyne glasse, beril. 1538 Latimer Serm. & Rem. (1845) 412 In plate, my new years gifts doth my need with glass and byrral. 1577 Harrison England ii. xii. (1877) 237 The houses were often glased with Berill. a 1625 Boys Wks. (1630) 429 The cunning Lapidarie, who sels a Byrall for a Diamond. |
b. Used as the type of clearness, as ‘crystal’ now is. (Some may have meant the gem.)
| c 1300 in Wright Lyric P. v. 25 A burde in a bour ase beryl so bryht. c 1450 Compl. Lover's L. 37 Water clere as birell or cristall. 1549 Compl. Scotl. vi. 37 Ane fresche reueir as cleir as berial. |
† 4. A mirror: more fully called a beryl-glass.
| 1540 Lanc. Wills (1857) II. 151 A byrrall glasse w{supt} a cover. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 54 The days are past..That Berral glas..Might serve to shew aseemely favord face. |
5. The colour of beryl (pale sea-green).
| 1834 R. Mudie Feath. Tribes Brit. (1841) I. 3 It..blends its beryl with the subdued sapphire of the horizon sky. |
B. attrib. and hence as adj.
1. a. attrib. Of beryl; composed of or furnished with a beryl; also formerly, of crystal.
| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. iii. i. viii. 289 Cleere and transparant like fine Birall Glasse. 1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriot. ii. 23 The Gemme or Berill Ring upon the finger of Cynthia. 1810 Edin. Rev. XVII. 120 The apatit accompanies berilemerald. |
b. Comb., as beryl-blue, beryl-covered adjs.
| 1881 W. D. Hay 300 Years Hence vii. 141 The great basin of beryl-blue water. |
| 1871 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1930) 144 Long reefs of violets In beryl-covered fens so dim. |
2. adj. † a. Clear as crystal, crystal-like (obs.). b. Beryl-like in colour, clear pale green.
| c 1496 Dunbar Gold. Terge 23 The rosis yong..War powderit brycht with hevinly beriall droppis. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. Prol. 53 The beriall stremis rynning men micht heir. 1545 Joye On Dan. xii. GG vij, The swete clere and byral dewe droppes of the morninge. 1857 Emerson Poems 178 He smote the lake to feed his eye With the beryl beam of the broken wave. |