Féminin

gemma

Signification

Concepts

Traductions

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(Anglais)

(declension-1, feminine) A bud or eye of a plant.
(declension-1, feminine) A gem, gemstone, jewel, precious stone.
(declension-1, feminine) A thing made of precious stones.

Prononcé comme (IPA)

[ˈɡɛm.ma]

Unknown. Possibilities include: * Cognate with Proto-Slavic *zębnǫti and Lithuanian žémbėti, both meaning “to germinate, sprout”, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵemb- or *ǵeb- (“to bud, sprout”), though such a root would be irregular for PIE; * From Proto-Indo-European *ǵembʰ- (“nail, tooth”), despite the semantic gap. Compare, however, Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux, “claw, nail, hoof, talon, but also onyx (gem)”); * From Proto-Italic *gen- (“to produce”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-; compare gignō and genus; * A non-Indo-European substrate source. The unusual form of the word, the lack of clear cognates and the semantic category of the word make this hypothesis likely.