Translation
emerald
Word origin
From Latin smaragdus, from Greek smaragdos, a stone name the Greeks themselves borrowed from the East. Esperanto took the Romance shape rather than the classical one, which is why it is smeraldo and not smaragdo.
- Origin
- Latin, via Italian
- Root
- smaragdus
- English cognates
- emerald, smaragdine
Examples
.
The ring has a large green emerald.
.
An emerald is as green as grass.
.
In the museum we saw a very old emerald.
One root, no seams. /o is a single borrowed word and there is nothing to take apart in it: no smer-, no -ald-, no suffix doing quiet work at the end. The -o is the noun ending and everything before it is the stone.
The word has travelled a long way to reach that shape. Greek smaragdos was already a loan when the Greeks used it, most likely from a Semitic source, and behind that stands Sanskrit marakata. Latin took it as smaragdus, the Romance languages softened the middle to give Italian and Spanish esmeralda, and Esperanto took the Romance form because that is the one Europe actually recognises.
A is a and a at once, and its defining property is in the second example: it is the green one. If you can say you can already describe it.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueEsperanto · Free printables
smeraldo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "smeraldo" (emerald): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 50.