sardonyx

9.9

A stone used in jewelry with red-brown and white or black layers

noun
/ˈsɑrdəˌnɪks/

Specialized

: sardónice

She wore a beautiful ring made of sardonyx, which had striking layers of reddish-brown and white.

Examples

He admired the sardonyx gemstone displayed in the jewelry shop, noting its unique banded appearance.
"Can't you just see them taking the tsassa-mahra baths at Sardonyx?" Joe said nothing.

Fiction book (1998)
For instance, when empty, its translucent fiery body of sardonyx gives the impression of live flesh: the body of Christ.

Academic text (2006)
The worshiper is whirled through the many changes of the sardonyx under the spectacle of light and gold, experiencing it as flesh, blood, body, and divinity.

Academic text (2006)
The artisan carved intricate designs into the sardonyx, enhancing its natural beauty and depth of color.

Synonyms

gemstone

vssardonyx

15 3.3

A hard, shiny stone cut and polished for use in jewelry

is the mineral variety identified by layered colored bands not the finished jewel

onyx

vssardonyx

5 8.2

A hard stone with black and white layers used for jewelry

shows reddish brown bands layered with a different colored mineral

chalcedony

vssardonyx

Specialized

1 9.9

A translucent, often milky stone that people use as a gem in rings and carvings

is the banded form with distinct colored layers rather than uniform translucence

Surface Forms

sardonyx singular

sardonyxes plural

Morphology

sardonyx = sard + onyx (semi-transparent) = sard + onyx

The lexical parts are literal gemstone names and the compound denotes an onyx containing sard layers, but 'sard' is rare and unfamiliar to many learners, reducing full transparency.

Etymology

Sardonyx comes from two parts, sard meaning 'red' and onyx meaning 'claw' but later used for the banded stone onyx. So sardonyx is a gemstone with red layers next to white or dark bands, and the name tells you exactly what the stone looks like.