topaz

Meanings

Noun

• A silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine, usually tinted by impurities.
• An often clear, yellowish-brown gemstone cut from this.
• A yellowish-brown color, like that of the gemstone.
• A black Catholic soldier in the British Army.

Adjective

• Of a yellowish-brown color, like that of the gemstone.

Origin

• From Old French topace (compare French topaze), from the Ancient Greek proper noun Τοπάζιος, ancient name of St. John's Island, Egypt, in the Red Sea, believed to be the first discovered source of the mineral τοπάζιον.