How Gemstones/Birthstones Got Their Names

[@NameExplain]

What's your birthstone? Any other sapphire people out here?!

[@Lee_bird]

🙋🏻‍♂️

[@stefanoraz27]

I'm emerald

[@GeeseAreJustBastardizedSwans]

Yep sapphire

[@snowthewhitegriffin7925]

Mine is peridot but my grandma's is the sapphire

[@Vanithokus]

Im an emerald actually

[@PuzzledMonkey]

FYI, Ruby and Sapphire are both crystalline forms of the same chemical, Aluminum Oxide. Ruby gains its red color from chromium impurities. So the girls' names Ruby and Sapphire mean essentially the same thing, with different colors associated with them, namely red and blue. Emerald is a green form of Beryl. So Esmeralda and Beryl, both girls names, are essentially the same thing, but like ruby and sapphire, also have different colors associated with them, namely green and a more pale greenish bluish yellow gold.

[@0OB08O]

Also, Aquamarine is another Beryl

[@Blueblitzer9264]

Who tf names their child beryl

[@PuzzledMonkey]

@@Blueblitzer9264, for example, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl_Markham

[@Roadiedave]

All sapphires = Corrundum (AlO2), with the exception of Red Sapphire being called Ruby, and only the Blue variant referred to as simply Sapphire. All others referred to as (color) Sapphires. Rare orange/yellow dichroic variant from India Padparadscha sometimes, but usually Pad Sapphire. Natural pure color is clear with chemical impurities for color i.e. Chromium - Red, Titanium - Blue, Iron - yellow, blue, brown, black, etc, All colors but green occurring naturally.

[@Roadiedave]

​@@0OB08O The Beryl family: Beryllium Aluminosilicate (Be₃Al₂SiO₆) Green - Emerald Blue/Blue-Green - Aquamarine Deep Blue - Maxixe "Masish" - Radioactive. Decays to yellow/brown Pink - Morganite Red - (Extremely Rare) Bixbite/Rhotodendron/Red Emerald Yellow - Heliodor Clear - Goshenite Or it's cousins in the Crysoberyl Family: Beryllium Aluminate (BeAl₂O₄) Yellow/Green-Yellow - Chrysoberyl RedGreen - Alexandrite Above displaying chattoyancy - Cat's Eye

[@deldarel]

It's funny how 'lapis lazuli' keeps the lapis that other stones have already dropped

[@mattisvov]

Side note: Garnet comes from the pomegranade, but that is also the etymology for grenade, as in a small explosive device intended for use as a weapon. (Source: Wikipedia) I had to check, but I presumed it since the world "granat" in my native Swedish describes both the gem and the weapon. Which confused me as a kid.

[@katsomeday1]

Some pointless gemstone fun: Sapphires actually come in a variety of colors, non-blue, non-red ones are called fancy sapphires. Rubies and Sapphires are actually the same mineral, corundum. Spinel for a long time was confused with rubies. The Timur ruby is actually a spinel. :)

[@bobmcbob9856]

Small nitpick, but Alexander II was not a king but an emperor. His title, imperator, was specifically meant to clear up the confusion around whether the title of Czar was equivalent to emperor or king, though given that Czar is derived from Caesar & in its original form meant “junior emperor or Rome” it’s pretty clear that even earlier Russian rulers were emperors, Alexander was undoubtedly not a king.

[@Mrs._Fenc]

wtf is the difference between an emperor and a king? I thought the difference was Jon and John.

[@bobmcbob9856]

@@Mrs._Fenc The difference is huge. An emperor is a higher title, it's like the difference between a king and a sovereign prince (a monarch of lower status than a king). Traditionally, and in the case of Russia, emperor means "successor of Rome", though emperor can also mean "equivalent to Roman emperor in another region" (as is the case with the East Asian title Son of Heaven or the Persian King of Kings). Other countries whose emperors used the title as "successor of Rome" were Eastern Rome, the Franks, the Holy Roman Empire (medieval & early modern Germany), the Latin Empire (Crusader state), Serbia (in the middle ages for a bit), the Ottomans, Napoleonic France, and Austria. Of course, later rulers used the title more liberally, as the German emperor was not claiming to be the successor to Rome but it did derive from the Holy Roman Emperors in a sense. Germany having been ruled by emperors the last time they were united (as the HRE) meant that when the smaller German states began working towards unification, they saw fit to give the ruler of a united Germany the same title. It was also important as it meant those kings under the emperor could still remain kings, obviously a king under a king is a diplomatically awkward situation. The British took the title "emperor of India" because they considered their rule in India equivalent to that of the preceding Mughal dynasty, who were considered emperors in the "locally equivalent to Rome" by the Europeans & the rest of the world, but they mainly did it to gain prestige as all the other great powers at the time were empires (Germany, France, Russia & Austria). This looser use of the title partly came from the fact that Napoleon had been a "popular emperor", declared emperor on the basis of the will of the people, not by the grace if God, so the older European monarchies saw the title as having been debased somewhat. Titles that mean high king or king of kings are also frequently translated as Emperor because they are higher than king.

[@tiodichia5309]

I 100% agree, BUT I’ve given up correcting people about Imperator, Caesar, King and so forth. Ruler=King in most peoples heads and I’d rather not confuse people who don’t know the difference by insisting on the correct title. But yeah, Emperor Alexander.

[@xyzno1cancer]

@@Mrs._Fenc In Europe before Napoleon, the title of Emperor indicated a monarchy's claim to be the successor of the Roman Empire. After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French and set the precedent for other monarchies, the title took on the "King of Kings" or "High King" meaning, and the most powerful monarchies of the time established imperial titles for themselves. Europeans also recognized non-European monarchs as emperors if they considered them equal to Rome. It was the case with China, East Asian countries that claimed to be equal to China (e.g. Japan), Persia, and India.

[@torbjornlekberg7756]

There are two minerals called Bloodstone, however. The one you mentioned as well as hematite (or iron ore). Hematite have this trait of "bleeding" red when put into water.

[@Roadiedave]

Hematite - Hemo - Blood. Polished microparticulate Ferrous Oxide Fe2O3 can rust from and within the stone, appearing to bleed out when exposed to water Fe2O3•32H2O. Also why wearing a ring made of hematite can leave a brown/red stain on your skin. Superstition says the stain is bad luck or toxins leaving your body, and the ring will break when it has absorbed enough bad energy, but it's actually the stone absorbing water from your skin, and becoming weak from corrosion and rust buildup.

[@jorgehaswag7294]

Interesting. As someone born in June, I’ve always heard pearl (and sometimes moonstone?), and my sibling from October has always heard opal, which would suggest the traditional set in our area, the western US.

[@kets4443]

As someone born in June in the UK, what would mine be?

[@jorgehaswag7294]

@@kets4443 not sure, I’ve just heard petal being in the US. But maybe that gemstone society is more prevalent where name explain lives, which is also the UK. In the gemstone society’s chart that would be alexandrite

[@stefanoraz27]

I'm guessing it's such a relief for you to do this video cause these names are easy to pronounce

[@imsquiddly6836]

I always thought my families birthstones were a funny coincidence. My dad’s favorite color is blue and his stone is sapphire. My mom’s favorite color is purple and her stone is amethyst. However, while my favorite color it turquoise and my brother’s is orange, I was born in November and he was born in December, so they are the opposite.

[@aquetzalcoatl4663]

As a game designer making a game about gemstone creatures, yoy cannot believe how useful this video is. Thanks.

[@gyorokpeter]

I actually wasn't even aware of the concept of "birthstones" until watching this.

[@kailomonkey]

The double P in Sapphire haunts me too

[@jasonreed7522]

Its kinda funny how litteral many of these names are, either the color of the gem, or spikey, or just "gemstone".

[@peccantis]

Garnet is often found as individual little crystals or clusters in a quartzite matrix. These deposits resemble scattered pomegranate seeds both in size and general shape, and colour. Diamond is extremely hard, but not tough. These are different properties, and the same atomic structure that makes diamond so hard also makes it not that tough. The modern list of birthstones makes changes not only to give each month a translucent stone, but also because some of the traditional stones (especially opal, turquoise, and pearl) are too soft and/or have other properties that make them ill suited for rings.

[@kaitlyn__L]

I was always told mine was Ruby, in January. Which I was always a little miffed by. Now I find out it’s Garnet, which I like much better! I wonder if that’s just because they’re both red.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@DaveSCameron ??

[@alexiswelsh5821]

“We are the Crystal Gems”

[@ahscott2001]

“We’ll always save the day”

[@PeridotEX]

"And if you think we can't,"

[@kyletowers9662]

"We'll always find a way"

[@gemluka6666]

"That's why the people"

[@shibolinemress8913]

So I guess the name Esmeralda also comes from smaragdos? How fun! Another fun fact: the German word for emerald is Smaragd! Edit: Now I know where Captain Adama got his name too! 😊

[@Jan_Koopman]

Um actually, diamonds are not tough, just hard. Counterintuitively, they're surprizingly brittle

[@HalfEye79]

The reason for that is its structure. Diamonds contain of carbon (similar to graphit) and this atoms have bonds to four other carbon-atoms. But diamonds can sometimes have colors. The reason for this are atoms of other elements, which are trapped in it. Diamonds are the only things, which can cut glass. And only one acid can dissolve glass (hydoflouric acid).

[@Jan_Koopman]

@@HalfEye79, yeah but my point is that Patrick said: "Diamonds are really tough," which is not true

[@HalfEye79]

@@Jan_Koopman That's correct. And I never doubted that.

[@lp-xl9ld]

Far as names are concerned: I have known in my life a Pearl, an Emerald, and a Ruby. Admittedly, though, "Ruby" was apparently short for "Rubinstein". And as it happens, by birth, I'm a topaz (November)

[@TheOneTrueGesta]

I was born in August so I knew about peridot and sardonyx, great video anyways name explain!

[@maggpiprime954]

Now I understand the etymology for "adamant."

[@lexbel8394]

14:48 “we like naming people after pretty precious things” Sometimes I hate people but other times I like thinking about them in this Nacirema, Nat Geo wildlife documentary narrator way 😂

[@delphinidin]

Fun story: rubies and sapphires are actually just two different colors of the same mineral!

[@samwill7259]

We...are the crystal GEMS!

[@hhairball9]

Thank you! I learned something today! I'm December!

[@sheerspeed7580]

Loved the video! Me and my wife both watched :) would love it if you did a vid about different types/breeds of cats

[@lindawolffkashmir2768]

Each Sun Sign also has a particular stone associated with it, if you don’t like your birthstone, you can try the stone associated with your Sun Sign.

[@leternz9819]

In my country i have never heard of gemstones being connected to birth months

[@pyrotempestwing]

Now I feel like building a Gem-Knight deck in Yugioh Master Duel.

[@0OB08O]

I preper the Crystal Beasts

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@0OB08O topaz tiger!

[@0OB08O]

@@kaitlyn__L I like that amethyst cat with the hexagonal faceted amethyst on the chest.

[@Roadiedave]

Sapphire - From the Hebrew 'Saffir' or Arabic 'Safir' - meaning stong, secure, SAFE

[@briagreen2951]

Favorite birth stone Ring

[@Supermariorpg6]

Are those the Chaos Emeralds?!

[@justpro8188]

I was starting getting worried that there were no Steven Universe references

[@KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain]

June the traditional pearl. August the traditional sardonyx. October the traditional opal. November topaz. December traditional turquoise.

[@ToastyNoneofyourbusiness]

Watching this as a fan of steven universe is a weird experience Also, you've probably gotten a million comments about it, but "Peridot" is pronounced with a hard T, like in the actual word "dot." And Lazuli is pronounced "læ-zuh-lee." (æ sounds like the 'a' in words like 'apple.' I think.) I'm impressed you pronounced spinel correctly though. Most SU fans couldn't pronounce that correctly until her name was actually spoken out loud in the show. Before that most fans assumed it was pronounced "spinal."

[@douglasphillips5870]

I've seen white zircon used for April. Probably because it looks similar to diamond, but it's much less expensive.

[@Roadiedave]

Cubic Zirconia, yes. It's the synthetic off-brand diamond for people who can't afford real diamonds. As a birthstone, it's merely a substitute for marketing purposes. Zircon, on the other hand, is an even more brilliant gemstone than Diamond that occurs in many different colors, but most beautiful imo as an aquamarine blue fireball of dazzling sparkle. They're all Zirconium Oxide (ZrO2), but for whatever reason, the naturally occurring Zircon is so much more awesome than it's Cubic Zirconia clone. I have seen Zircon in September on a few lists. Fun fact: Zircon hates Lead, but loves Uranium "Uranophyllic", so when formed it will take on pure Uranium inclusions that make the crystal bubbly shaped, and become more traditionally crystal shaped as the radiation decays. Sampling these inclusions was the origin of Uranium/Lead Radiometric Dating, as any Lead would only have come from radioactive decay after the crystal formed, and that is how we know those rocks were formed around 4.5 Billion years ago. Giving us the current estimate for the age of the Earth. Some meteorites date back as far as 4.7BYA which can be used to date the Solar System. Zircon is fun!

[@nizzuisch-nizzoschmidt]

Steven Universe Fans can see Sardonyx laughing

[@briagreen2951]

Favorite birth stone Ring 💍

[@MR.APZero]

peridough my new favorite gem

[@dracone4370]

I heard diamonds got their name from Adamant, which is an indestructible (a synonym of invincible) dark-colored stone in Greek mythology. I've even heard that the titan Chronos had a pair of scythes that had blades made from Adamant, and the stone knife that Zeus used to cut his siblings from Chronos's stomach was also made of Adamant. I also heard that an old name for diamonds is Adamant. Although it is possible, that Adamas might have been mistranslated as Adamant, or the two words synonyms like how Invincible and Indestructible are synonyms today.

[@fduranthesee]

we very-nearly could've had Adamantium irl

[@nebulan]

Topaz means fire? That's disappointing that the game New World missed opportunity to have that elemental associated with topaz instead lightning

[@sahara-lu6eq]

in arabic we call peridot zabarjad not sure about faridat meaning actually, however it might be an older name

[@bananacat4945]

Can you figure out the meaning of Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitzweimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm’s name?

[@NovaSaber]

I've never heard "peridot" pronounced outside of Steven Universe, but it sounds weird to me with a silent "t".

[@Roadiedave]

You could call it Olivine.

[@jpopbakkari]

Garnet baby here. It's cool to know it's based on pomegranate!

[@mollof7893]

The idea of "Birthstone" is entirely new to me

[@parkersandahl3949]

So many chaos gems

[@darkseraph2009]

Damn. Was hoping to hear you talk about how sapphires come in many colors

[@Roadiedave]

Corrundums come in many colors. "Sapphires" by definition are blue. Any other color aside from red "Rubies" are fancy or colored sapphires. Pardon the gemological nitpick, but it is an etymology channel lol.

[@rextanglr4056]

Insert Steven Universe reference here.

[@lekoicy]

we

[@teamcanaloficial8358]

Lmao i didn't even know they linked minerals to months

[@LavaLampLady]

Nothing happens during diamond, no holiday, no important movement, so this is the only flex April people have. Come on, it’s diamond 💎

[@Roadiedave]

We're solid like that. No need for additional bluster.

[@HOPEfullBoi01]

Actually just as sardonyx and onyx, sard is a gemstone too.

[@areamusicale]

12:20 Should Opal be named after the word "opalescence"?

[@briagreen2951]

Good evening

[@randyyy2609]

My birthstone is sapphire, too! Isn't its name related to Sappho of Lesbos, the ancient Greek poet?

[@adrianblake8876]

Probably not, it's a loanword from Sanskrit "saniypera", which as the video mentions, means "dear to Saturn", with "saniy" being Saturn. They probably got it from the phonecians since the name appears in the Exodus list. On that note the gemstone "smaragdos" may be a corruption of phonecian "barraqtu" meaning "luster, shine", which also appears in the Exodus list as "barreqet"...

[@KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain]

I prefer the deep blue diamonds!

[@chinchice2733]

Sapphire’s name is stupid, it means blue yet sapphire can come in every colour of the rainbow (apart from red)

[@Roadiedave]

Nope. If you say only "Sapphire" it means blue. Any other color is a pronoun sapphire to disambiguate (apart from red, of course)

[@AllieThePrettyGator]

Sweet mother of jewels

[@stefanoraz27]

12:41 Topazes island? zambogad? what country is that

[@kets4443]

Egypt

[@bobdiclson4173]

Apparently Shakespear coined the worst lackluster

[@S-Magma1215]

I was thinking about Steven Universe the whole time

[@zrksyd]

Surprised you didn't mention that the word adamant has the same root as diamond.

[@faeoori]

I've always hated having pearl as a "gemstone" because it is not really a gem. And now I have another reason to dislike it because of lacking etymology.

[@PuzzledMonkey]

But the Greek word for pearl is the origin of the name Margaret, which he already covered extensively recently. The gem exists independent of language, so you can look for good name origins in any language you like.

[@0OB08O]

@@PuzzledMonkey Also, the greek version of pearl/Margaret is the origin og the portuguese word for "daisy", the flower.

[@Roadiedave]

From the Hebrew Pninah, or Pennina from the Bible.

[@darthguilder1923]

Tourmaline looks like the Newfoundland flag

[@Convoy00X]

I like that erasing idea.

[@denisewest1643]

💎💎💎💎

[@misterno-ice-guy8082]

There's no reason for MOST poetry's existence (haiku example)

[@TheSamkrox]

Does British English not pronounce the “t” in Peridot?

[@lisaheisey6168]

I'm an American and have only heard the word Peridot, without sounding the T. So, it must not just be a British thing.

[@DexFire1115]

I’m an American and have never heard the word “Peridot” pronounced in my life (or at least, what I remember). I assumed it was just pronounced with the T. Then again, I don’t really comply with all American pronunciations such as herb which I pronounce with the H.

[@kaitlyn__L]

There’s a whole running gag in the webcomic “Cucumber Quest” about a character called Peridot getting annoyed by people saying it “peri-doh” (or maybe I’m misremembering and it was the other way around..?)

[@TheSamkrox]

@@DexFire1115 traitor /j

[@Roadiedave]

The true pronunciation is French Peridoh, but both are accepted, though your jeweler may cringe at the hard T. When in doubt, just say Olivine.

[@kainingyao7873]

Any Steven Universe fans out there? I hope Name Explain likes Steven Universe.

[@bobfg3130]

11:43 What god?

[@ninjapirate123]

Why are they all diamonds

[@Lcngopher]

Diamonds are forever😂

[@izackholmgren4686]

burger king foot lettuce

[@bloomjuliaeslavin525]

It’s ironic how I am burning me and made birthstone is emerald emerald is supposed to symbolize half and wealthiness yeah I’m always sick all the time and I live just above the American poverty line I think they need to redo that trim on my month because I’m born in May and I am an emerald does it mean I have good health for Ralph I have neither my tombstone is not helping me that’s for sure

[@sarahfields288]

Ruby's are pink not red

[@Roadiedave]

"Pidgeon Blood Red" is the ideal color. Anything less red would be a Pink Sapphire

[@Franco-ow9ci]

perry-dot, not perry-dough

[@Roadiedave]

Both are correct

[@Machodave2020]

0:45: That's not Biblical.

[@Benni777]

You’re such a *gem* for making this video 😏 sorry, I had to 🤭

[@TheTaawnyDaanger]

If your fingernails look like onyx, you might need to wash your hands. 😅