adamantine en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /-ˌt(i)n/ (General-American)
- /ˌædəˈmæntaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˌædəˈmænˌtaɪn/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English adamantine, adamantyne, adamauntyn (“(adjective) of adamant; (noun) adamant”), from Anglo-Norman adamantin and Middle French adamantin (“of or resembling adamant or diamond”) (modern French adamantin), and from its etymon Latin adamantinus (“adamantine”), from Ancient Greek ἀδᾰμάντῐνος (adămántĭnos, “hard as adamant; made of steel”), from ᾰ̓δᾰμᾰντ- (ădămănt-) (a stem of ἀδάμᾱς (adámās, “the hardest metal (probably steel); diamond”), possibly originally Semitic) + -ῐνος (-ĭnos, suffix meaning ‘made of’ forming adjectives). By surface analysis, adamant + -ine (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Etymology 1, adjective sense 1.2.4 (“having the quality of attracting or drawing”) and etymology 1, adjective sense 2 (“like diamond in lustre; etc.”) refer to adamant (“(archaic) lodestone; (historical, poetic) diamond”).
Meanings
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Synonym of adamant. ▸ Made of adamant (“an unspecified mineral or rock of virtually impenetrable hardness”).
[A]t laſt appeer / Hell bounds high reaching to the horrid Roof, / And thrice threefold the Gates; three folds vvere Braſs, / Three iron, three of Adamantine Rock, / Impenitrable, impal'd vvith circling fire, / Yet unconsum'd.
1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [F4], recto, lines 643–648:
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(figuratively) Synonym of adamant. ▸ Incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; impenetrable, unbreakable.
Vnleſſe the Deſtin's adamantine band / Should tye my teeth, I cannot chuſe but bite, […]
1599, W. Kinsayder or Theriomastix [pseudonyms; John Marston], “Inamorato Curio”, in The Scourge of Villanie. […], London: […] I[ames] R[oberts], →OCLC; republished as G[eorge] B[agshawe] Harrison, editor, The Scourge of Villanie (The Bodley Head Quartos; 13), London: John Lane, The Bodley Head […]; New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company, 1925, →OCLC, page 82:Oh ſay vvhat Heroes, fir’d by Thirſt of Fame, / Or urg’d by VVrongs, to Troy’s Deſtruction came? / To count them all, demands a thouſand Tongues, / A Throat of Braſs, and Adamantine Lungs.
1715, Homer, “Book II”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 27, lines 578–581:Him [Satan] the Almighty Povver / Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie / VVith hideous ruine and combuſtion dovvn / To bottomleſs perdition, there to dvvell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / VVho durſt defie th' Omnipotent to Arms.
1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signatures A, verso – A2, recto, lines 44–49:Theſe are the Adamantine Lavvs and Tyes of Religion, againſt vvhich no man can repine but he muſt repine againſt the Being of a God, or againſt his indiſpenſable Right of being ſerved in the in the firſt place, and of binding our conſciences to believe and our tongues to profeſs vvhat truths he has in a miraculous manner communicated to the VVorld upon thoſe terms.
1662, Henry More, “The Preface General”, in A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr Henry More […], London: […] James Flesher for William Morden, […], →OCLC, page xxvi:Hovv impetrable hee vvas in mollyfying the adamantineſt tiranny of mankinde, […]
1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, page 21:adamantine bonds adamantine chains
Alas! Leviathan is not ſo tamed. / Laugh'd at, he laughs again; and ſtricken hard, / Turns to ſtroke his adamantine ſcales, / That fear no diſcipline of human hands.
1785, William Cowper, “Book II. The Time-piece.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 62:[I]t vvas thought the beſt pollicie, and ſafeſt for the State, That the Romane Empire ſhould be kept, & held vvithin bounds, to vvit, the Ocean, the rivers Iſter and Euphrates limits ſet by nature, to the end it might be a State Adamantine, (for ſo Auguſtus himſelfe ſpeaketh in Iulian,) that is, invincible; […]
1610, William Camden, “Romans in Britaine”, in Philémon Holland, transl., Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC, page 39:[T]o a vviſe man there can happen no iniury or offence at all, to moleſt the felicity of his minde, vvhich (in the Stoicks opinion) ought to bee imperturbable, and his heart adamantine.
1605, Giacomo Affinati d’Acuto Romano, chapter 23, in A[nthony] M[unday], transl., The Dumbe Divine Speaker, or: Dumbe Speaker of Diuinity. […], London: […] [R. Bradock] for William Leake, […], →OCLC, page 257:[T]he adamantine chain of the logic [of Immanuel Kant's writings]; […] took possession of me as with a giant's hand.
1817, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Is Philosophy Possible as a Science, and what are Its Conditions?—Giordano Bruno—Literary Aristocracy, or the Existence of a Tacit Compact among the Learned as a Privileged Order—The Author’s Obligations to the Mystics;—to Emanuel Kant—The Difference between the Letter and the Spirit of Kant’s Writings, and a Vindication of Prudence in the Teaching of Philosophy—[Johann Gottlieb] Fichte’s Attempt to Complete the Critical System—Its Partial Success and Ultimate Failure—Obligations to [Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph] Schelling; and among English Writers to [Richard] Saumarez”, in Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions, volume I, London: Rest Fenner, […], →OCLC, page 145:Sex law is the most adamantine instrument of sexual stratification and erotic persecution. The state routinely intervenes in sexual behavior at a level that would not be tolerated in other areas of social life. Most people are unaware of the extent of sex law, the quantity and qualities of illegal sexual behavior, and the punitive character of legal sanctions.
1984, Gayle Rubin, “Thinking Sex”, in Carole S. Vance, editor, Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, Boston, Mass.; London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, →ISBN, page 288:He got home pretty late that night, and when he climbed cautiously in at the window, he uncovered an ambuscade, in the person of his aunt; and when she saw the state his clothes were in her resolution to turn his Saturday holiday into captivity at hard labor became adamantine in its firmness.
1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter I, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 25:Start from your sculptured tombs, ye sons of fire! / Snatch, snatch those gentle forms from war's alarms, / And throw your adamantine shield around their shrinking charms.
1827, [Lydia Sigourney], “Missolonghi”, in Poems; […], Boston, Mass.: S[amuel] G[riswold] Goodrich, […], →OCLC, page 187:
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(figuratively) Synonym of adamant. ▸ Difficult to defeat or prevail over; unshakable, unyielding.
He [William III of England] was proved by every test; […] by the imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk which has shaken very strong nerves, a risk which severely tried even the adamantine fortitude of [Oliver] Cromwell.
1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VII, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 167:For two hours they stand; [François Claude Amour, marquis de] Bouillé's sword glittering in his hand, adamantine resolution clouding his brows; […]
1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Bouille at Metz”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume II (The Constitution), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book II (Nanci), page 81:In Measure for Measure [by William Shakespeare], the injustice of the judges, and the corrupt cowardice of the brother, are opposed to the victorious truth and adamantine purity of a woman.
1864 (date delivered), John Ruskin, “Lecture I.—Sesame. Of Kings’ Treasuries.”, in Sesame and Lilies. Two Lectures Delivered at Manchester in 1864. […], London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published 1865, →OCLC, pages 129–130:
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(figuratively) Synonym of adamant. ▸ Of a person: refusing to change one's mind; obstinate, stubborn.
I thought this last information would soften the young man, but he was adamantine. He informed me that it was against all bank rules for a woman to draw from her husband's deposit without his order.
1871 March, J[ane] L[ippit] Patterson, “My Lost Banker; a Story in Three Chapters. [Chapter] III.”, in The Ladies’ Repository: A Universalist Monthly Magazine for the Home Circle, volume XLV, Boston, Mass.: Universalist Publishing House, […], →OCLC, page 191, column 1:
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(figuratively, obsolete) Synonym of adamant. ▸ Having the quality of attracting or drawing; attractive, magnetic.
Hail, adamantine Steel! magnetic Lord! / King of the provv, the plovvſhare, and the ſvvord! / True to the pole, by thee the pilot guides / His ſteady helm amid the ſtruggling tides, […]
1791, [Erasmus Darwin], “Canto II”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, part I (The Economy of Vegetation), page 79, lines 201–204:Embravvne your ſoft-skind encloſure vvith Adamantine duſt, that it may dravve nothing but ſteele vnto it.
1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 34, recto:All mens eyes vvere preſently turnd to the North, ſtanding euen ſtone-ſtill in their Circles, like the poynts of ſo many Geometricall needles, through a fixed & Adamantine deſire to behold this 45. yeares vvonder novv brought forth by Tyme: […]
1604, Tho[mas] Dekker, “A Device (Proiected Downe, but till Now Not Publisht,) that should have Serued at His Maiesties First Accesse to the Citie”, in The Magnificent Entertainment: Giuen to King Iames, Queene Anne His Wife, and Henry Frederick the Prince, vpon the Day of His Maiesties Tryumphant Passage (from the Tower) through His Honourable Citie (and Chamber) of London, being the 15. of March. 1603. […], London: […] T[homas] C[reede], Humphrey Lownes, Edward Allde and others] for Tho[mas] Man the yonger, →OCLC, signature A3, recto:
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Like diamond in lustre; bright, lustrous, shiny; also, of a lustre: like that of a mineral with a high refractive index such as diamond.
Raspite, a new dimorphous form of lead tungstate, is found on some of the stolzite specimens as brownish or yellow monoclinic crystals with a strong adamantine lustre.
1898 June, “Abstracts”, in H[enry] A[lexander] Miers, editor, The Mineralogical Magazine and Journal of the Mineralogical Society, volume XII, number 54, London: W[illia]m Dawson & Sons with the permission of the Mineralogical Society [of Great Britain and Ireland], published 1965, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 47:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most adamantine | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more adamantine | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
subadamantine · adamantinely · adamantoblast · adamantinoma · adamantine spar
Relateds
Synonyms
confirmed · certain · inflexible · unvanquishable · unbending · grim · tenacious · obstinate · headstrong · peevish · willful · unsurmountable · resolved · stubborn · persistent · bent on · unsubduable · thran · irrefragable · unquenchable · insuperable · rigid · unconquerable · insistent · bloody-minded · dogged · recalcitrant · pigheaded · unsuppressible · pertinacious · wilful · incalcitrant · stalwart · intractable · intransigent · intractable · invincible · unyielding · hard-nosed · unbeatable · peremptory · immovable · ardent · inextinguishable · insuppressible · inviolate · determined · insurmountable · indomitable · thwart · intrepid · steadfast · refractory · self-willed · bullheaded · diehard · vehement · sullen · obstreperous · adamant · inveterate · staunch · uncompromising · unsinkable · hard-hearted · unyielding · steady · chronic · never-say-die · terminal · inexpugnable · impregnable · immovable · resolute · hardheaded · truculent · mulish · tough · obdurate · stubborn as a mule · obdurate · untiring
Translations (11)
fr adamantin (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · fi rikkomaton (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · es adamantino (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · ro adamantină (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · pt adamantino (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · pl adamantowy (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · it adamantino (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · cmn 金剛 /金刚 (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · es diamantino (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable) · fi timanttinen (of a lustre: like that of a mineral with a high refractive index such as diamond) · fi timantinkova (incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated — see also adamant, impenetrable, unbreakable)