What is "diamond"

Diamond \Di"a*mond\ (?; 277), a. Resembling a diamond; made of, or abounding in, diamonds; as, a diamond chain; a diamond field.

Diamond \Di"a*mond\ (?; 277), n. [OE. diamaund, diamaunt, F. diamant, corrupted, fr. L. adamas, the hardest iron, steel, diamond, Gr. ?. Perh. the corruption is due to the influence of Gr. ? transparent. See Adamant, Tame.]

1. A precious stone or gem excelling in brilliancy and beautiful play of prismatic colors, and remarkable for extreme hardness.

   Note: The diamond is native carbon in isometric crystals, often octahedrons with rounded edges. It is usually colorless, but some are yellow, green, blue, and even black. It is the hardest substance known. The diamond as found in nature (called a rough diamond) is cut, for use in jewelry, into various forms with many reflecting faces, or facets, by which its brilliancy is much increased. See Brilliant, Rose. Diamonds are said to be of the first water when very transparent, and of the second or third water as the transparency decreases.

2. A geometrical figure, consisting of four equal straight lines, and having two of the interior angles acute and two obtuse; a rhombus; a lozenge.

3. One of a suit of playing cards, stamped with the figure of a diamond.

4. (Arch.) A pointed projection, like a four-sided pyramid, used for ornament in lines or groups.

5. (Baseball) The infield; the square space, 90 feet on a side, having the bases at its angles.

6. (Print.) The smallest kind of type in English printing, except that called brilliant, which is seldom seen.

   Note: [hand] This line is printed in the type called Diamond.

   Black diamond, coal; (Min.) See Carbonado.

   Bristol diamond. See Bristol stone, under Bristol.

   Diamond beetle (Zo["o]l.), a large South American weevil ( Entimus imperialis), remarkable for its splendid luster and colors, due to minute brilliant scales.

   Diamond bird (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian bird ( Pardalotus punctatus, family Ampelid[ae].). It is black, with white spots.

   Diamond drill (Engin.), a rod or tube the end of which is set with black diamonds; -- used for perforating hard substances, esp. for boring in rock.

   Diamond finch (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian sparrow, often kept in a cage. Its sides are black, with conspicuous white spots, and the rump is bright carmine.

   Diamond groove (Iron Working), a groove of V-section in a roll.

   Diamond mortar (Chem.), a small steel mortar used for pulverizing hard substances.

   Diamond-point tool, a cutting tool whose point is diamond-shaped.

   Diamond snake (Zo["o]l.), a harmless snake of Australia ( Morelia spilotes); the carpet snake.

   Glazier's diamond, a small diamond set in a glazier's tool, for cutting glass.

early 14c., from Old French diamant, from Medieval Latin diamantem (nominative diamas), from Vulgar Latin *adiamantem (altered by influence of the many Greek words in dia-), from Latin adamantem (nominative adamans) "the hardest metal," later, "diamond" (see adamant). Playing card suit is from 1590s; Sense in baseball is American English, 1875.

n. 1 (given name female from=English) of modern usage, from the name of the gem. 2 (surname)

1. n. a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem

2. very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem [syn: adamant]

3. a playing card in the minor suit of diamonds

4. the area of a baseball field that is enclosed by 3 bases and home plate [syn: baseball diamond, infield] [ant: outfield]

5. the baseball playing field [syn: ball field, baseball field]

Diamond ( or ) is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the strong covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material. Those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells.

Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron and nitrogen. Small amounts of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) color diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown ( lattice defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion (ability to disperse light of different colors).

Most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of in the Earth's mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the carbon source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years (25% to 75% of the age of the Earth). Diamonds are brought close to the Earth's surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, which cools into igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites. Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earth's mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have been developed to distinguish natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds, and diamond simulants. The word is from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas "unbreakable".

Diamond was, according to legend, Sir Isaac Newton's favorite dog, which, by upsetting a candle, set fire to manuscripts containing his notes on experiments conducted over the course of twenty years. According to one account, Newton is said to have exclaimed: "O Diamond, Diamond, thou little knowest the mischief thou hast done." The story is largely apocryphal: according to another account, Newton simply left a window open when he went to church, and the candle was knocked over by a gust of wind. In fact, some historians claim that Newton never owned pets.

The story of "Newton's Mischief" has been reproduced over the centuries as early as 1833 in "The Life of Sir Isaac Newton" by David Brewster and later in St. Nicholas Magazine. In 1816 Walter Scott used the story in the third of his Waverley Novels, The Antiquary (volume 2, chapter 1).

This pet of Newton's was also mentioned in Thomas Carlyle's book The French Revolution: A History, employed in discussing the deathbed of Louis XV. Carlyle writes "To the eye of History many things, in that sick room of Louis, are now visible, which to the courtiers there present were invisible. For indeed it as been well said, 'in every object there is inexhaustible meaning; the eye sees in it what the eye brings means of seeing.' To Newton and to Newton's dog Diamond, what a different pair of Universes; while the painting on the optical retina of both was, most likely, the same!"

Nevertheless, Diamond is the subject of several anecdotes concerning Newton. In another tale, Newton is said to have claimed that the dog discovered two theorems in a single morning. He added, however, that "one had a mistake and the other had a pathological exception."

Diamond is the hardest known natural material.

Diamond may also refer to:

• Diamond Light Source, a British synchrotron research facility
• Diamond (comics), a fictional character in the NEW-GEN comic books published by Marvel Comics
• Diamond (dog), a dog supposedly owned by Sir Isaac Newton
• Diamond (grape), a wine grape varietal grown in the Finger Lakes AVA
• diamond (typography), the typographic size between pearl and brilliant
• Diamond knot, a knot for forming a decorative loop on the end of a cord such as on a lanyard
• Diamond Tower, a skyscraper in the city of Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, Israel
• Diamonds (ballet), third movement of George Balanchine's Jewels
• DIAMOND (project), a project for optimizing the operation of wastewater treatment plants
• The Diamond, a 1998 fantasy novel by J. Robert King and Ed Greenwood

The Diamond was a three-masted square rigger, built in New York in 1823. She was one of the first ships to operate a regular service for passenger and cargo between Britain and the United States. She sank en route to Liverpool from New York on 2 January 1825 in Cardigan Bay. The alleged wreck site was identified in 2000 and was designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on 1 April 2002, the first such designation to be made by the National Assembly for Wales. However, the identification has since been called into question.

A diamond (from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas, meaning "unbreakable", "proper", or "unalterable") is one of the best-known and most sought-after gemstones. Diamonds have been known to mankind and used as decorative items since ancient times; some of the earliest references can be traced to India.

The hardness of diamond and its high dispersion of light – giving the diamond its characteristic "fire" – make it useful for industrial applications and desirable as jewelry. Diamonds are such a highly traded commodity that multiple organizations have been created for grading and certifying them based on the four Cs, which are color, cut, clarity, and carat. Other characteristics, such as presence or lack of fluorescence, also affect the desirability and thus the value of a diamond used for jewelry.

Perhaps the most famous use of the diamond in jewelry is in engagement rings, which became popular in the early to mid 20th century due to an advertising campaign by the De Beers company, though diamond rings have been used to symbolize engagements since at least the 15th century. The diamond's high value has also been the driving force behind dictators and revolutionary entities, especially in Africa, using slave and child labor to mine blood diamonds to fund conflicts. Though popularly believed to derive its value from its rarity, today, annual global rough diamond production is estimated to be about 130 million carats (26 tonnes),

Diamond is the second studio album by Spandau Ballet. It was released on 25 May 1982 by Chrysalis Records. The album was promoted with the single " Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)", which was released in 1981, a full year before the album, and it reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The last single released, " Instinction", reached #10. The album was re-released in a remastered and expanded 2 CD Special Edition on 8 March 2010.

Diamond is a full-length album from 12012. The album was their major label debut, after their move to Universal Music. The album is available in two editions, a regular and special edition; the regular containing a bonus track and the special, a DVD featuring making-of footage, the music video for "Diamond", as well as live footage and a promotional poster.

Diamond is a feminine given name derived from the name of the diamond gemstone. The word is derived from the Greek adamas. The name was the 359th most popular name for baby girls born in the United States in 2007. Deimantė, a Lithuanian variant, was the 10th most popular name for baby girls born in Lithuania in 2007.

The boy hero of the 1871 children's book At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald is named Diamond.

Brittany Nicole Carpentero (born May 20, 1988), better known by her stage name Diamond, is an American rapper and former member of the group Crime Mob.

Diamond is the first Japanese album by the South Korean girl group 4Minute. It was released in Japan on December 15, 2010. It was released in two editions, regular CD only, and limited CD+DVD. The limited edition includes a 52-page photobook that highlights some of their single releases and Japanese debuts. The album sold 7,060 copies in Japan, peaking at the #27 spot in the Oricon weekly charts. The Korean edition of the album was released in January 25, 2011, but doesn't includes the Korean songs from their debut EP " For Muzik".

Diamond (Kent Chang) is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears in the NEW-GEN comic books. Created by Chris Matonti, J.D. Matonti, and Julia Coppola, he first appeared in NEW-GEN #1 (2010). He was one of the children from the world of NEW-GEN granted extraordinary abilities by Deadalus' nanobot plague. He is a founding member of the A.P.N.G.

Diamond is the fourth album by American melodic hardcore band Stick to Your Guns.

Diamond is Jaci Velasquez's seventh studio album, released in 2012 on Inpop Records. The producers of this album are Craig Swift and Chris Bevins, who are both in the band Salvador, along with Jaci's husband, Nic Gonzalez.

The Diamond grape is a white grape which is a cross between the Concord and Iona grapes. It was developed in the 1880s in New York. It is used today in table wines and grape juice.

Diamond was built by John Crichton & Co. of Saltney, Chester for Midland and Coast Canal Carrying Company of Wolverhampton. The boat was built in Chester in 1927 and first registered at Wolverhampton in 1928. She was one of six iron boats in the fleet fitted with two cabins for long distance traffic between the Black Country and the ports on the Mersey Estuary. Having been damaged during an air raid on Birmingham in 1944 she was sold for scrap to Ernest Thomas by Fellows, Morton & Clayton who had by then acquired Midlands and Coast. Rebuilt and renamed ‘Henry’ she carried coal until the 1960s when she was resold to ‘Caggy’ Stevens of Oldbury and renamed ‘Susan’. It is now owned by the Black Country Living Museum, where it is based and can be seen dockside in the Lord Ward’s Canal Arm at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Diamond is on the National Historic Ships register.

"Diamond" is a song recorded by Canadian country music artist Julian Austin. It was released in 1997 as the second single from his debut album, What My Heart Already Knows. It peaked at number 3 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in January 1998.

Diamond is a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Larry Back. The invention was inspired by the game Kensington, which uses a similar board pattern and game objective. Rules for Diamond were conceived in 1985 and finalized in 1994. Diamond introduces a new board geometry and neutral pieces, with the aim of enhancing the game dynamic and lowering the potential for draws.

Diamond was featured in the February 2013 issue of Games magazine.

Diamond is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Constant Deviants. The album was released on November 19, 2012 by their label SIX2SIX Records. Diamonds production and mixing was entirely handled by the duo. It was supported by the single "Gangster Boogie". The standard version of the album contains fifteen tracks, with the digital version containing three hidden songs on the album.

Diamond is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Amy Diamond (born 1992), Swedish pop singer
• Andrew Diamond, (born 1989), American reggae artist
• Anne Diamond (born 1954), British television presenter
• Barry Diamond, American comedian
• Benjamin Diamond (born 1972), French singer
• Bernard L. Diamond (1912–1990), American professor of law and psychiatry
• Bob Diamond (disambiguation), several names
• Charles Diamond (1858–1934), Irish newspaper entrepreneur
• Charley Diamond (born 1936), American football player
• Cora Diamond, U.S.-born philosopher
• David Diamond (disambiguation), several names
• Debi Diamond (born 1965), American pornographic actress
• Dustin Diamond (born 1977), American actor
• Fred Diamond (born 1964), English mathematician
• Gregg Diamond (1949–1999), American musician
• Harry Diamond (1908–1996), English Gezza
• I. A. L. Diamond (1920–1988), Romanian-born American film writer
• Jack Diamond (architect) (born 1932), South African born, Canadian architect
• Jack Diamond (Canadian businessman) (1909–2001), Canadian businessman and philanthropist
• Jack "Legs" Diamond (1897–1931), Irish-American gangster
• Jared Diamond (born 1937), American biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and author
• Jim Diamond (music producer) (born 1965), American studio engineer, producer and bass player
• Jim Diamond (singer) (born 1953), Scottish rock musician
• Jody Diamond (born 1953), American composer, performer, writer, publisher, editor, and educator
• John Diamond (journalist) (1953–2001), British Jewish broadcaster and journalist
• John Diamond, Baron Diamond (1907–2004), British politician
• King Diamond (born 1956), Danish heavy metal musician
• Larry Diamond, political scientist
• Lou Diamond (1897–1951), US Marine
• Michael Diamond (born 1965), the American musician Mike D, member of the Beastie Boys
• Michael Diamond (sport shooter) (born 1972), Australian professional target shooter
• Milton Diamond (born 1934), American professor of anatomy and reproductive biology
• Mya Diamond (born 1981), Hungarian pornographic actress
• Neil Diamond (born 1941), American singer/songwriter
• Paul Diamond (born 1961), Croatia-born Canadian professional
• Peter Diamond (born 1940), American economist
• Phil Diamond (born 1958), professor at University of Manchester
• Randy Diamond (born 1987), Honduran footballer
• Rebecca Diamond, American television journalist
• Reed Diamond (born 1967), American actor
• Sara Diamond (born 1958), an American sociologist and attorney
• Sara Diamond (college president) (born 1954), the President of OCAD University
• Sara Diamond (singer) (born 1995), a Canadian singer/songwriter
• Scott Diamond (born 1986), Canadian professional baseball pitcher
• Selma Diamond (1920–1985), Canadian-born comedic actress and TV writer
• Simon-Pierre Diamond (born 1985), Canadian politician
• Stanley Diamond (1922–1991), American anthropologist
• Zander Diamond (born 1985), Scottish professional footballer