diadem
[dahy-uh-dem]
- a crown.
- a cloth headband, sometimes adorned with jewels, formerly worn by monarchs in Asia Minor and other parts of the East.
- royal dignity or authority.
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- to adorn with or as if with a diadem; crown.
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Origin of diadem
1250–1300; Middle English diademe (< Anglo-French) < Latin diadēma < Greek diádēma fillet, band, equivalent to diadē- (verbid stem of diadeîn to bind round + -ma noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for diadem
Contemporary Examples
It is a diadem fit for a King among kings, an Emperor among emperors.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
I do this every day, and yet the joy of waiting and at last touching again the diadem, only seems to increase as the days pass.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Historical Examples
Mrs. Roberts had been at work hunting diamonds for His diadem.
Ester Ried Yet SpeakingIsabella Alden
On a throne of rocks, with a robe of clouds, And a diadem of snow.
Byeways in PalestineJames Finn
In truth it was upon that brow that he would have wished to place the diadem.
King CandaulesThophile Gautier
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Gathering JewelsJames Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles
Americans are all equal—this is one of the gems in our diadem.
As A Chinaman Saw UsAnonymous
diadem
- a royal crown, esp a light jewelled circlet
- royal dignity or power
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- (tr) to adorn or crown with or as with a diadem
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Word Origin
C13: from Latin diadēma, from Greek: fillet, royal headdress, from diadein to bind around, from dia- + dein to bind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for diadem
n.
late 13c., from Old French diademe and directly from Latin diadema "cloth band worn around the head as a sign of royalty," from Greek diadema, from diadein "to bind across," from dia- "across" (see dia-) + dein "to bind," related to desmos "band," from PIE *de- "to bind." Used of the headband worn by Persian kings and adopted by Alexander the Great and his successors.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper