gem

noun

/d͡ʒɛm/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English gemme, gimme, yimme, ȝimme, from Old English ġimm, from Proto-West Germanic *gimmu (“gem”) and Old French gemme (“gem”), both from Latin gemma (“a swelling bud; jewel, gem”). Doublet of gemma and Gemma.

derived from gemma — “a swelling bud; jewel, gem”
derived from gemme — “gem”
inherited from *gimmu✻ — “gem”
inherited from ġimm
inherited from gemme

Definitions

1
A precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
- And on her head she wore a tyre of gold, Adornd with gemmes and owches wondrous fayre, Whose passing price vneath was to be told;
- Of six preceding ancestors, that gem, Conferr’d by testament to the sequent issue, Hath it been owed and worn. This is his wife; That ring’s a thousand proofs.
- […] then silent Night With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon, And these the Gemms of Heav’n, her starrie train:
2
Any precious or highly valued thing or person.
- She's an absolute gem.
- Standout “Hidden Knives” is the kind of new wave-leaning punk gem John Hughes would’ve loved, while “So Beneath You” is a teeth-baring, roiling tune.
3
Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on…
Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, such as a small picture, a verse of poetry, or an epigram.
- a gem of wit
›+ 14 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  A gemma or leaf bud.
  - Among the crooked Lanes, on every Hedge, / The Glow-Worm lights his Gem […].
  - 1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xcii, In about twelve days the sprouts from the gems of the planted cane are seen […]
2. A geometrid moth of the species Orthonama obstipata.
3. A package containing programs or libraries for the Ruby programming language.
4. A size of type between brilliant (4-point) and diamond (4½-point), running 222 lines to…
  A size of type between brilliant (4-point) and diamond (4½-point), running 222 lines to the foot.
5. 8
  A strong, dominating pitching performance.
  - 2025, Associated Press, Crochet gets 1st career shutout and complete game as Red Sox beat Rays for 9th straight win by Associated Press, He didn’t walk a batter in his 100-pitch gem
6. Internet content of good quality.
7. 10
  To adorn with, or as if with, gems.
  - A few bright and beautiful stars gemmed the wide concave of heaven[…].
  - Above was the firmament, gemmed with worlds, and sublime in immensity.
8. A native or resident of the American state of Idaho.
9. A ghost town in California.
10. An unincorporated community in Indiana.
11. A city in Kansas.
12. A diminutive of the female given name Gemma.
13. Initialism of ground-effect machine.
14. Acronym of Graphite-Epoxy Motor.

The neighborhood

synonymjewel
synonymprecious stone
synonymgemstone

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at gem. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at gem. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at gem

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA

Etymology

Definitions

The neighborhood

Derived

Vish — recursive loop