Opal

How to spell opal

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce opal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does opal mean?

1. nounA precious stone known for its milky base and shifting play of rainbow colours.

Opal in a sentence

• The ring held a single opal that flashed green and blue in the light.

• She inherited a brooch set with a large fire opal.

Where does opal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Opal traces back to the Latin opalus, the name of a milky, colour-flecked gemstone prized in the ancient world. The Romans in turn took it from the Greek opallios, which described the same stone. Most scholars believe the chain reaches further still to the Sanskrit upala, meaning simply 'stone' or 'precious stone', carried west along ancient trade routes. English adopted the word in the late 1500s, keeping the smooth Latin shape almost untouched, which is why it is spelled with the plain ending -al rather than the -le that catches some writers. The stone's name has always followed its shimmering, shifting play of colour, the very quality that made it valuable, and that lasting link between word and gem is what has kept the spelling so stable.

How the word is built

• opal (single root from Latin opalus, a precious stone); no prefix or suffix