opal

/ˈəʊpəl/US/ˈoʊpəl/

opal noun: a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

opal (plural opals)

A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
- Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128
1. A precious gem, an iridescent gemstone found in the opal-silica mineral substrate (potch)
The colour of opal: any shade of blue with bright flecks of other colours, such as white, yellow, and red.
- The witchery of the dawn turned the grey river-reaches to purple, gold, and opal; and it was as though the lumbering dhoni crept across the splendors of a new heaven.1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 141
A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."
Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Nesolycaena.

Proper noun capitalized: Opal

Opal

A unisex given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
- Perhaps to console herself for the bad luck she had already suffered, in a back corner of South Sherbrooke Township - or perhaps to make up, ahead of time, for a lack of motherly feelings - she gave the girls the fanciest names she could think of: Opal Violet, Dawn Rose, and Bonnie Hope.1985, Alice Munro, The Progress of Love, Chatto&Windus, published 1987, →ISBN, page 208
1. A female given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
2. (rare) A male given name from English from the precious stone, invented in the nineteenth century.
(Australia) A type of petrol made by British Petroleum designed to be unable to be used for petrol sniffing.
- Halton says, for example, that if there are bylaws that prohibit trafficking in fuel in a community where the non-sniffable petrol, Opal, had been introduced it would be the job of the local police to enforce the law. Her department, on the other hand, was dealing with the issue of the availability...2006, Paul Malone, Taking the ‘Hospital Pass’ – Jane Halton, Department of Health and Ageing: Australian Department Heads Under Howard - Career Paths and Practice, page 131
- Diesel is available at roughly 300km intervals on the WA side, as is Opal fuel which, at the Warburton and Warakuna roadhouses, can be used instead of unleaded petrol. (Opal is unsniffable, and its provision is one of the measures in place to counteract petrol-sniffing problems in local...2007, Terry Carter, Lara Dunston, Perth & Western Australia, Lonely Planet, page 163
A hamlet in Alberta, Canada.
A census-designated place in Virginia.
A town in Wyoming.

opal meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

opal in Tamil

a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity: அமுதக்கல் amutakkal

opal in Marathi

a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity: ओपल opal

opal in Urdu

اوپال

More languagesFewer languages

opal in Bengali: দুধেপাথর, এক প্রকার মূল্যবান রত্ন
opal in Telugu: ఓపల్, ఒపాల్, ఓపాల్
opal in Malayalam: രത്നം, ക്ഷീരസ്ഫടികം, മേഘവർണ്ണക്കല്ല്
opal in Kannada: ಕ್ಷೀರಸ್ಫಟಿಕ, ಅಮೂಲ್ಯಶಿಲೆ, ಶುಭ್ರವಾದ ಹರಳು, ಸಿಲಿಕ
opal in Punjabi: ਓਪਾਲ
opal in Gujarati: ઓપાલ
opal in Odia: ଓପଲ୍, ଓପାଲ୍
opal in Nepali: ओपाल
opal in Tagalog: opalo
opal in Arabic: أُوبَال ʔubāl
opal in Persian: اپال opâl, چشمگربه čašmegorbe, عینالهر eynolherr
opal in Thai: โอปอล oo-bpɔɔl
opal in Vietnamese: opan, ngọc mắt mèo, miêu nhãn thạch

Forms of opal

plural	opals

Plural of opal: opals

Origin of opal

In Florio’s A World of Words 1598 as opale, from French opale, from Latin opalus, from Byzantine Greek ὀπάλλιος (opállios), from Sanskrit उपल (upala, “gem, stone”), from उपरि (upári, “the upper millstone”). Distantly related to over.

Words formed from opal

Phrases with opal

Words that rhyme with opal

Questions about opal

What does opal mean?: Opal means a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO₂·nH₂O.
What is opal in Hindi?: Opal in Hindi is ओपाल. See Opal meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is opal?: Opal can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce opal?: Opal is pronounced /ˈəʊpəl/ (UK).
What is the plural of opal?: The plural of opal is opals.

Words near opal in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: opal (page history and authors); Opal (page history and authors); opal (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); opal (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); opal (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); opal (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); opal (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-opal.wav, en-au-Opal.ogg.

Cite this entry: “opal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/opal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.