Beryl

Forms: 3–4, 6– beryl; 4, 7–9 beril; also 4–6 beryll, 4–5 -ylle, 5 -ille, -ile, -yle, -al, -el, -ell, birell, 5–6 berall, birrall, byral, byrrall, 5–7 berill, byrall(e, 6 berral, birall, 8 berryl; Sc. 5–6 berial, -iall, -yall, 6 bureall. [a. OF. beryl, beril:—L. bēryllus, a. Gr. βήρυλλος, prob. a foreign word; identified by Weber with Skr. vaidūrya. Cf. also Arab. and Pers. ballūr crystal. In med.L. berillus was applied also to crystal, and to an eyeglass or spectacles, whence MHG. berille, mod.G. brille spectacles: cf. branch II.]

  A.  sb. I. literal.

  1.  A transparent precious stone of a pale-green color passing into light-blue, yellow and white; distinguished only by color from the more precious emerald. When of pale bluish green it is called an aquamarine; its yellow or yellowish varieties are the chrysoberyl, and, perhaps, the chrysoprase, and chrysolite of the ancients. (The name is used in early literature without scientific precision: it is also doubtful if the ‘beryl’ of the Old Testament is correctly identified.)

c. 1305.  Land of Cokayne, 92. Beril, onix, topasiune.

1382.  Wyclif, Rev. xxi. 20. The eiȝthe . berillus.

1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVI. xx. (1495), 559. Beryll is a stone of Ynde lyke in grene colour to Smaragde.

1459.  Test. Ebor. (1855), II. 229. Duos lapides de byrral.

1488.  Invent., in Tytler, Hist. Scot. (1864), II. 391. A ruby, a diamant, twa uther ringis, a berial. Ibid. A berial hingand at it.

1529.  More, Comf. agst. Trib., I. Wks. 137/1. Some white safyre or byrall.

1601.  Holland, Pliny, II. 613. Many are of opinion, that Berils are of the same nature that the Emeraud.

1811.  Pinkerton, Petral., I. 41. No one has supposed that berils are produced by fire.

1817.  R. Jameson, Char. Min., 107. The hexahedral prism occurs in beryl.

1861.  C. King, Ant. Gems (1866), 38. The Beryl is of little value at our present day.

  b.  In this sense beryl-stone was often used.

c. 1380.  Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 102. Take a berille-ston and holde it in a cleer sonne.

c. 1475.  Gloss., in Wright, Voc., 256. Hic berellus, a berelle ston.

1611.  Bible, Ezek. x. 9. The appearance of the wheeles was as the colour of a Berill stone.

1881.  Rossetti, Rose Mary, I. ii. You’ve read the stars in the Beryl-stone.

  † c.  fig. Applied in admiration to a woman; cf. gem, jewel, pearl. Obs.

c. 1440.  York Myst., xxv. 505. Hayll! rose ruddy! hayll birrall clere.

c. 1485.  Digby Myst. (1882), III. 958. Now godamercy, berel brytest of bewte!

c. 1535.  Lyndesay, Satyre, 132. Fair ladye Sensualitie, The beriall of all bewtie, And portratour preclair.

  2.  Min. A mineral species including not only the beryl of the lapidary in all its sub-varieties, but also the emerald, a variety of the beryl, distinguished by the presence of oxide of chromium, to which it owes the deep rich color, named from it emerald-green. Beryl is a silicate of aluminium and glucinum, and occurs only crystalline, usually in hexagonal prisms.

1837.  Dana, Min. (1868), 246. Beryls of gigantic dimensions have been found in the United States … one beryl from Grafton weighs 2,900 lbs.

1863.  Watts, Dict. Chem., I. 582. Beryls are found in various parts of the world: the finest emeralds come from Peru.

  II.  transferred.

  † 3.  A fine description of crystal or glass, used for vases, caskets, etc., and for glazing windows.

c. 1384.  Chaucer, H. Fame, 1288. And oft I mused longe while Upon these walles of berile.

c. 1430.  Lydg., in Dom. Archit., III. 121. The worke of wyndowe & eke fenestrall Wrouȝte of beryle.

1528.  MS. List Jewelry. Another coffer of byrall, stonding upon lyons.

1530.  Palsgr., 197/2. Berall, fyne glasse, beril.

1538.  Latimer, Serm. & Rem. (1845), 412. In plate, my new years gifts doth my need with glass and byrral.

1577.  Harrison, England, II. xii. (1877), 237. The houses were often glased with Berill.

a. 1625.  Boys, Wks. (1630), 429. The cunning Lapidarie, who sels a Byrall for a Diamond.

  b.  Used as the type of clearness, as ‘crystal’ now is. (Some may have meant the gem.)

c. 1300.  in Wright, Lyric P., v. 25. A burde in a bour ase beryl so bryht.

c. 1450.  Compl. Lover’s L., 37. Water clere as birell or cristall.

1549.  Compl. Scotl., vi. 37. Ane fresche reueir as cleir as berial.

  † 4.  A mirror: more fully called a beryl-glass.

1540.  Lanc. Wills (1857), II. 151. A byrrall glasse w^t a cover.

1576.  Gascoigne, Steele Gl. (Arb.), 54. The days are past … That Berral glas … Might serve to shew aseemely favord face.

  5.  The color of beryl (pale sea-green).

1834.  R. Mudie, Feath. Tribes Brit. (1841), I. 3. It … blends its beryl with the subdued sapphire of the horizon sky.

  B.  attrib. and hence as adj.

  1.  attrib. Of beryl; composed of or furnished with a beryl; also formerly, Of crystal.

1594.  Blundevil, Exerc., III. I. viii. 289. Cleere and transparant like fine Birall Glasse.

1658.  Sir T. Browne, Hydriot., ii. 23. The Gemme or Berill Ring upon the finger of Cynthia.

1810.  Edin. Rev., XVII. 120. The apatit accompanies beril-emerald.

  2.  adj. † a. Clear as crystal, crystal-like (obs.). b. Beryl-like in color, clear pale green.

c. 1496.  Dunbar, Gold. Targe, 23. The rosis yong … War powderit brycht with hevinly beriall droppis.

1501.  Douglas, Pal. Hon., Prol. 53. The beriall stremis rynning men micht heir.

1545.  Joye, On Dan. xii. GG vij. The swete clere and byral dewe droppes of the morninge.

1857.  Emerson, Poems, 178. He smote the lake to feed his eye With the beryl beam of the broken wave.