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balas

[bal-uh s, bey-luh s]
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noun Mineralogy.

a rose-red variety of spinel.

Origin of balas

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin balasius, variant of balascius < Arabic balakhsh, back formation from Persian Badakhshān, district near Samarkand, where gem is found
Also called balas ruby.

Bala

[bey-luh]

noun Douay Bible.

Bilhah.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for balas

Historical Examples of balas

  • Page 167, line 67, and seq.—'Carbuncle and Balas ruby,' etc.

    Parzival (vol. 2 of 2)

    Wolfram von Eschenback

  • But in the battle in which Balas was overthrown, the Egyptian king also received his death wound.

    A Manual of Ancient History

    A. H. L. (Arnold Hermann Ludwig) Heeren

  • Egypt was the defeat and downfal of Balas, although it cost Philometor his life.

    A Manual of Ancient History

    A. H. L. (Arnold Hermann Ludwig) Heeren

  • And yet his work stands out from the ruck of the contemporary versifiers as a balas ruby among carrots.

    Martin Eden

    Jack London

  • Balas, a name used to distinguish the rose-coloured species of ruby from the ruby proper.

British Dictionary definitions for balas

balas

noun

a red variety of spinel, used as a gemstoneAlso called: balas ruby

Word Origin for balas

C15: from Old French balais, from Arabic bālakhsh, from Badhakhshān, region in Afghanistan where the gem is found

Bala

noun

Lake Bala a narrow lake in Gwynedd: the largest natural lake in Wales. Length: 6 km (4 miles)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012