diadem

[ dahy-uh-dem ]

/ ˈdaɪ əˌdɛm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR diadem ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

to adorn with or as if with a diadem; crown.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for diadem

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 Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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 Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Such was the wretched Ahab—wretched though favored with a diadem and a sceptre.
Elijah the Tishbite|C. (Charles) H. (Henry) Mackintosh
Leo determined to extirpate the tyranny of the Vandals, and solemnly invested Anthemius with the diadem and purple of the West .
The World's Greatest Books, Vol XI.|Edited by Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton

Proclus calls her "the unsullied shell which contains the pearl of price," "the church's diadem," "the expression of orthodoxy."
The Catholic World. Volume III; Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.|E. Rameur
He has many jewels in his crown of glory, but she is his gem-jewel, his diadem.
Social Life|Maud C. Cooke
It was then seen that an inscription was engraved upon the diadem, but in such strange characters that no one could read it.
Legends & Romances of Brittany|Lewis Spence

British Dictionary definitions for diadem

diadem

/ (ˈdaɪəˌdɛm) /

noun

a royal crown, esp a light jewelled circlet

royal dignity or power

verb

(tr) to adorn or crown with or as with a diadem

Word Origin for diadem

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for diadem

diadem

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.