jewel

¹

[joo-uhl]

noun

1. a cut and polished precious stone; gem.

2. a fashioned ornament for personal adornment, especially of a precious metal set with gems.

3. a precious possession.

4. a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable.

5. a durable bearing used in fine timepieces and other delicate instruments, made of natural or synthetic precious stone or other very hard material.

6. an ornamental boss of glass, sometimes cut with facets, in stained-glass work.

7. something resembling a jewel in appearance, ornamental effect, or the like, as a star.

verb (used with object)

jeweled, jeweling , jewelled, jewelling .

1. to set or adorn with jewels.

Jewel

²

[joo-uhl]

noun

1. a female given name.

jewel

/ ˈdʒuːəl /

noun

1. a precious or semiprecious stone; gem

2. a person or thing resembling a jewel in preciousness, brilliance, etc

3. a gemstone, often synthetically produced, used as a bearing in a watch

4. a piece of jewellery

5. an ornamental glass boss, sometimes faceted, used in stained glasswork

6. the most valuable, esteemed, or successful person or thing of a number

   who will be the jewel in the crown of English soccer?

verb

1. (tr) to fit or decorate with a jewel or jewels

Other Word Forms

• jewelled adjective
• jewel-like adjective
• jewellike adjective
• unjeweled adjective
• unjewelled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jewel¹

1250–1300; Middle English jouel juel < Anglo-French jeul, Old French jouel, joel < Vulgar Latin *jocāle plaything, noun use of neuter of *jocālis (adj.) of play, equivalent to Latin joc ( us ) joke + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of jewel¹

C13: from Old French jouel, perhaps from jeu game, from Latin jocus

Example Sentences

The national park, home to elephants, lions, hippos, leopards and many other animals, attracts almost a million visitors a year, and is a jewel in the crown of South Africa's tourism industry.

Read more on BBC

She is the subject of multiple probes, including one for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal dubbed "Rolexgate."

Read more on Barron's

The broker has previously described private wealth management division Cazenove as the jewel in Schroders’ crown and valued the stake at 400 million pounds.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

We hope it will appreciate that biopharma is a crown jewel for the country in generating lifesaving medicines and vaccines, and innovation and jobs.

Read more on Barron's

Phil Baty, THE's chief global affairs officer, said there were "clear warning signals of serious decline for the UK's 'jewel in the crown' university sector".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bauble 
• bead 
• bling 
• gem 
• gemstone 
• ornament 
• stone 
• trinket