agate
/ˈæɡ.ɪt/US/əˈɡeɪt/
agate noun: a semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two.
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Noun
agate (countable and uncountable, plural agates)
- A semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two.
- The ends of the veil, drawn over her head, were embroidered with silver; she had long gold ear-rings; to a rich and large gold chain was suspended a cross set with precious stones; and over the arm of her chair hung a rosary of agate beads.1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 9
- Yes: living among the cohabations^([sic]) of Faust himself, among the litharge and agate and hyacinth and pearls.1947, Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, page 86
- The size of type between pearl and nonpareil, standardized as 5+¹⁄₂-point.
- Synonyms:
- ruby
- One fourteenth of an inch.
- A diminutive person; so called in allusion to the small figures cut in agate for rings and seals.
- A tool used by gold-wire drawers, bookbinders, etc.;—so called from the agate fixed in it for burnishing.
- A marble made from agate.
- Synonyms:
- aggie
- A testicle.
Adverb
agate (not comparable)
- On the way; agoing.
- Go to it then hardily, and let us be agate.1554, Interlude of Youth
- I'm fear'd you have some ill plans agate.1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], Jane Eyre. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC
agate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
agate in Hindi
- mineral
- अकीक akīk, गोमेद gomed, गोमेदक gomedak, गोमेधक gomedhak
agate in Tamil
- அகேட் பளிங்கு, அகேட் கல், அகேற்று, வழி தவறி, மணிவகை, இரத்தினங்களில் ஒன்று
agate in Urdu
- mineral
- عقیق aqīq
agate in Bengali
- mineral
- অকীক okik
More languagesFewer languages
- agate in Malayalam
- അഗേറ്റ് agēṟṟŭ
- agate in Kannada
- ಅಗೇಟ್ agēṭ
- agate in Gujarati
- અકીક akīk
- agate in Pashto
- عقيق
- agate in Tagalog
- agata
- agate in Arabic
- عقيق ʕaqīq
- agate in Malay
- akik, agat
- agate in Indonesian
- akik
- agate in Persian
- عقیق 'aqiq
- agate in Thai
- โมรา moo-raa, อะเกต à-gàyt
- agate in Vietnamese
- mã não
- agate in Myanmar
- မဟူရာကျောက် ma.hura-kyauk
Synonyms of agate
Forms of agate
| plural | agates |
|---|
Origin of agate
From Middle French agathe, from Latin achatēs, from Ancient Greek ἀχάτης (akhátēs, “agate”).
From Late Middle English agate, a gate. Equivalent to a- (“on”) + gate (“way, path”).
Words formed from agate
Phrases with agate
Questions about agate
- What does agate mean?
- Agate means a semitransparent, uncrystallized silicate mineral and semiprecious stone, presenting various tints in the same specimen, with colors delicately arranged and often curved in parallel alternating dark and light stripes or bands, or blended in clouds; various authorities call it a variety of chalcedony, a variety of quartz, or a combination of the two.
- What is agate in Hindi?
- Agate in Hindi is अकीक (akīk), गोमेद (gomed), गोमेदक (gomedak). See Agate meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is agate?
- Agate can be a noun or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce agate?
- Agate is pronounced /ˈæɡ.ɪt/.
- What is the plural of agate?
- The plural of agate is agates.
Words near agate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: agate (page history and authors); agate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-agate1.wav.
Cite this entry: “agate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/agate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.