agate

Where does the word "agate" come from? It comes from Greek akhates, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Agate’s story begins in Greek: akhates meant “relating to the Achates river.” Named for a river in Sicily where the banded stone was first found. It reached English by 1300s as agate. Settled as the English word for the banded quartz gemstone. Today, agate means a banded, translucent variety of quartz used as a gemstone.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient akhates "relating to the Achates river", named for a river in Sicily where the banded stone was first found.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s agate "a banded variety of quartz", settled as the English word for the banded quartz gemstone.