Etymograph

English

diamantiferous

Diamantiferous comes from French diamant ‘diamond’, and goes back to Late Latin diamas.

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiamas1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400diamant1‘diamond’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600diamant1‘diamond’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentdiamant2‘diamond’
  5. Englishtodaydiamantiferous2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French diamant
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English diamantiferous

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiamasWiktionary, French diamant
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400diamantWiktionary, French diamant‘diamond’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600diamantWiktionary, French diamant‘diamond’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentdiamantWiktionary, English diamantiferous‘diamond’
  5. EnglishtodaydiamantiferousWiktionary, English diamantiferous

Formed from iferous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *demh₂- ‘to tame, domesticate’

indomitable, daunt, 11 more

through Ancient Greek ἀδάμας ‘adamant, the hardest metal’

adamantine, 7 more

through Latin adamās ‘Adamant’

adamant, 3 more

through Old French diamant ‘diamond’

diamond, 3 more

Today it means

adj Yielding diamonds.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “diamantiferous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French diamant. 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 / Late Latin diamas / diamantiferous

Shirt and support for this word