Adamant
Sign in to saveAlso known as adamantite, adamantine, adamas
Adamant in classical mythology is an archaic form of diamond. In fact, the English word diamond is ultimately derived from adamas, via Late Latin and Old French . In ancient Greek (), genitive (), literally 'unconquerable, untameable'. In those days, the qualities of hard metal (probably steel) were attributed to it, and adamant became an independent concept as a result.
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Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- In mythology
- In popular culture
- See also
- References
Adamant in classical mythology is an archaic form of diamond. In fact, the English word diamond is ultimately derived from adamas, via Late Latin and Old French . In ancient Greek (), genitive (), literally 'unconquerable, untameable'. In those days, the qualities of hard metal (probably steel) were attributed to it, and adamant became an independent concept as a result.
In the Middle Ages adamant also became confused with the magnetic rock lodestone, and a folk etymology connected it with the Latin , 'to love or be attached to'. Another connection was the belief that adamant (the diamond definition) could block the effects of a magnet. This was addressed in chapter III of Pseudodoxia Epidemica, for instance.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Adamant” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.