Each word has its own ancestor. It is impossible to say exactly which word and where it came from, since there are many opinions and variations of meanings in the books. However, the fate of some of the "pearls of the tongue" can be traced through a clear etymology. From this article, the reader learns how in ancient times was called an emerald.
Oddly enough, this question worries many, especially crossword puzzles, it turns out that he is a regular in the General Knowledge category.
general information
Emerald is a mineral, a precious stone of the beryl group. According to Fersman’s classification, emerald can be attributed to first-order gemstones, which also include diamond, sapphire, chrysoberyl, alexandrite, noble spinel and euclase.
The main characteristics of this gemstone are its color and transparency. The emerald is considered ideal if its transparency is harmoniously combined with evenly distributed saturated color. It is worth mentioning the fact that defect-free large emeralds of a good shade of 5 carats are much more valuable than diamonds.
The name of an emerald in the old days
The progenitor of many languages was the Latin language, it laid down the basic church concepts, enriched many languages with scientific and philosophical terms.
Once this language was a universal means of communication between priests, scholars and nobles. Possession of this language was considered the highest merit among the intelligentsia, as it opened many roads to the inquiring mind of the person who owns it. What was emerald called in ancient times? The Latin word for emerald smaragdus can literally be translated as “green”. The fact is that a language so complex in constructing speech turns was built according to simple concepts: an object or quality was often evaluated and named according to its properties and color. It is easy to guess from here that the Russian language, absorbing all the novelties and meanings with incredible speed, adopted the overseas word. Therefore, it is easy to guess how in ancient times an emerald was called in Russia . Smaragd called this stone, almost completely borrowing the word "from behind the hill."
What in the old days was called emerald in Russia?
Smaragd, being a rare and valuable stone , was very loved in Russia. However, they received it only from overseas territories, and more precisely from India, where at that time it was abundant. According to written sources, smaragd was used at that time even in the manufacture of glasses, which are inferior, of course, in quality to today's glass.
But at that time, only a wealthy and influential person could afford to wear glasses. Also, the emerald (as it was called in the old days, smaragd) was a welcome decoration of any beauty of those times, and even now many people are happy to wear it as a fashion accessory.
Interesting facts about emerald
To date, Russia (the Ural Mountains) and Brazil are considered the record holders for the production of this gem. Therefore, when people think about how emerald was called in Russia in ancient times, they mistakenly attribute the ancient Latin name to the original Russian. By the way, the best cut and polished smaragd is made by Dutch jewelers. People who are fond of astrology and esoterics consider the emerald an excellent talisman. Stones come in both a green hue and a blue tint - this already depends on the quality of grinding and cutting. It turns out that the largest smaragd that was ever mined by a man weighed more than 200 kilograms. It is noteworthy that in the Ukrainian language the ancient Slavic name of the emerald is still preserved. For example, “The Wizard of the Emerald City” is translated into Ukrainian as “Charivnyk of the Smaragd Myst.”
The importance of emerald in religion and culture of mankind
Emeralds were highly valued even at the time of Pliny and Theophrastus, and, according to Herodotus, an amazing smaragd flaunted on the ring of Polycrates. Both the ancient Greeks and the ancient Egyptians valued emeralds very much (they used stones as ornaments for the mummy).
Indeed, according to the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the emerald was a gift from the god Thoth. The green color of the stone symbolizes the arrival of spring and the rebirth of the body after death. In Egypt, Smaragd was called the stone of the goddess Isis, he was credited with the ability to turn dreams into reality, predict the future, see the past and read thoughts. It was believed that the emerald bestowed a person with unchanging love and fidelity. Therefore, this gift was in honor of future mothers and all the guardians of the hearth.
In ancient times, it was also believed that smaragd is a powerful talisman that restores vision and helps to avoid the bites of poisonous snakes (probably due to the "aggressive" green tint). As one legend says, Emperor Nero himself owned an emerald, which he used as a monocle during gladiatorial battles.
It is noteworthy that in Islamic culture the green emerald has always been considered a desirable magic stone, and in the Christian tradition, on the contrary, is witchcraft, a product of hellish flame.