GEM • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Gem

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/dʒɛm/ Listen

noun

Gem n.

1.

(Bot.) A bud. "From the joints of thy prolific stem A swelling knot is raised called a gem."

2.

A precious stone of any kind, as the ruby, emerald, topaz, sapphire, beryl, spinel, etc., especially when cut and polished for ornament; a jewel.

3.

Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, as a small picture, a verse of poetry, a witty or wise saying.

Artificial gem, an imitation of a gem, made of glass colored with metallic oxide. Cf. Paste, and Strass.

verb

Gem v. t. (past & past part. gemmed; pres. part. gemming)

1.

To put forth in the form of buds. "Gemmed their blossoms." (R.)

2.

To adorn with gems or precious stones.

3.

To embellish or adorn, as with gems; as, a foliage gemmed with dewdrops. "England is... gemmed with castles and palaces."

See images of 'Gem'

Etymology of 'Gem'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Gem" Quotes from Famous Books

... Gem of her school days became, in truth, a gem stored away for future years. Long after she had outgrown the little rural school scraps of poetry returned to her to rewaken the enthusiasm of childhood and to teach her again to "hear the lark within the songless egg and find the fountain ...

— Patchwork - A Story of 'The Plain People' • Anna Balmer Myers

... that any proffered love is free from the taint of greed? Her brother was one of America's most brilliant money-getters. He gathered in and disbursed with a lavish magnificence. She had been called the most beautiful woman in Europe and her gem-like brilliancy had been set in Life's gold and platinum of environment. When Cupid came to her what bill of health could he produce to prove that he was not a sneak-thief in disguise? She had accepted the cynical conclusion that she might never be sure of ...

— Destiny • Charles Neville Buck

... delicacy of execution by any intaglio of the Greeks. [PLATE LXXXI., Fig. 1.] The design has a good deal of the usual stiffness, though even here something may be said for the ibex or wild-goat which stands upon the lotus flower to the left: but the special excellence of the gem is in the fineness and minuteness of its execution. The intaglio is not very deep but all the details are beautifully sharp and distinct, while they are on so small a scale that it requires a magnifying glass to distinguish them. The material of the cylinder ...

— The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 2. (of 7): Assyria • George Rawlinson

... West India fleet, under the well-known Rodney, had acted with the land forces in the reduction of Martinique, the gem and tower of the French islands and the harbor of an extensive privateering system. It is said that fourteen hundred English merchantmen were taken during this war in the West Indian seas by cruisers whose principal port was Fort Royal ...

— The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 • A. T. Mahan

... into which he was summarily shunted when the occupation began, and he wasn't sure of being entirely at home there. At any time he expected a command to evacuate in favour of an extra nurse or a doctor's assistant. But through all of it, he shone like a gem of purest ray. ...

— From the Housetops • George Barr McCutcheon

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