Etymograph

English

beryl

Beryl comes from Old French beril, and goes back to Ancient Greek βήρυλλος.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβήρυλλος1bḗrullos
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbērillus1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400beril1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beryl1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611beryl1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English beryl
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The appearance of the wheels and their work was…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβήρυλλοςWiktionary, English berylbḗrullos
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbērillusWiktionary, English beryl
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400berilWiktionary, English beryl
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500berylWiktionary, English beryl
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611berylWiktionary, English beryl. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The appearance of the wheels and their work was…”

The story

Inherited from Middle English beryl, from Old French beril, from Latin bērillus, bēryllus, from Ancient Greek βήρυλλος (bḗrullos, “beryl”), in turn borrowed from Middle Indic forms like Pali veḷuriya or Prakrit 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑀼𑀮𑀺𑀅 (verulia), from Dravidian, probably named after Velur (modern day Belur) in southern India.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Ancient Greek βήρυλλος

brilliant, 1 more

Today it means

noun A mineral of pegmatite deposits, often used as a gemstone (molecular formula Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “beryl”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek βήρυλλος / beryl

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