Jewel

How to spell jewel

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce jewel

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jewel mean?

1. nounA precious or semi-precious stone, especially one cut and polished for ornament.

Jewel in a sentence

• The antique brooch held a single emerald jewel at its centre.

• The thief pried one jewel loose from the museum crown.

Where does jewel come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English around the year 1300 from the Old French jouel, sometimes spelled joel, meaning a small precious ornament. The most widely accepted view traces it back to the Latin jocus, which meant 'a game' or 'a jest', the sense being that of a small delightful plaything or trinket; a rival theory links it instead to the Latin gaudium, meaning 'joy'. Either way the root captured the idea of something prized and pleasurable rather than the hard mineral itself, and the meaning narrowed over time to the cut and polished gemstone we picture today. The same Old French family gave us 'jewellery' and the related word 'jeweller'. The spelling trap comes from the silent flow of the 'ew' followed by the soft '-el' ending, since the word sounds like 'jool' yet keeps a vowel-heavy spelling.

How the word is built

• jewel (from Old French jouel, a small precious object)