What is the origin of the word "diamond"?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 2
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Once again we take a trip to http://www.onelook.com/ and thence to http://www.etymonline.com Wher we learn ' c.1310, from O.Fr. diamant, from M.L. diamantem (nom. diamas), from V.L. *adiamantem (altered by infl. of the many Gk. words in dia-), from L. adamantem (nom. adamans) "the hardest metal," later, "diamond." Playing card suit is from 1594; Sense in baseball is Amer.Eng. 1875. ' Diamond is from Latin "adamantem " meaning "the hardest metal"
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The word diamond seems to be a mutation of the word “adamant”. A person is adamant if they are firm or unyielding in their attitude or position. The origin seems to be from the common root "anti" and the Greek word "deme", which meant to force, or break (as in training an animal) which is the root of our present word domesticate. Together the two roots meant unbreakable, and the word was commonly used for hard metals and gems, and extremely difficult people. The old English name for diamond is daimounde. Latin is adimantem. Side note: There’s evidence of diamond drills before 700 CE in India and Egypt and as early as the 4th century BCE in Yemen.
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