diadem

[dahy-uh-dem]

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.

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

Related Words for diadem

dignity, fillet, coronet, tiara, halo, headband, anadem

Examples from the Web for diadem

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of diadem

Mrs. Roberts had been at work hunting diamonds for His diadem.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
On a throne of rocks, with a robe of clouds, And a diadem of snow.
Byeways in Palestine
James Finn
In truth it was upon that brow that he would have wished to place the diadem.
King Candaules
Thophile Gautier
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Gathering Jewels
James Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles
Americans are all equal—this is one of the gems in our diadem.
As A Chinaman Saw Us
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for diadem

diadem

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

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.