Question

adamantine adjective The Greek and Latin word for the hardest imaginable substance, whether applied to a legendary stone or an actual substance, such as diamond, was adamas. Latin poets used the term figuratively for things lasting, firm, or unbending, and the adjective adamantinus was applied in similar contexts. The English noun adamant (meaning "an unbreakable or extremely hard substance") as well as the adjective adamant ("inflexible" or "unyielding") came from adamas. Adamantine, however—which has such figurative uses as "rigid," "firm," and "unyielding"—came from adamantinus. Adamas is also the source of diamond. Diamas, the Latin term for diamond, is an alteration of adamas. Adamantine means "rigidly firm" or "unyielding."// The laws were adamantine and were inscribed on bronze tablets.// The ushers were adamantine in their refusal to let latecomers into the theater.

Accepted Answer

September 5, 2021 ad-uh-MAN-teen "The black-and-white illustrations … conjure up wind-borne snows, cliffs that rear up like waves, and waves that look as adamantine as rock." — Susannah Clapp, The Observer (London), 5 June 2021

Word	adamantine
Date	September 5, 2021
Type	adjective
Syllables	ad-uh-MAN-teen
Etymology	The Greek and Latin word for the hardest imaginable substance, whether applied to a legendary stone or an actual substance, such as diamond, was adamas. Latin poets used the term figuratively for things lasting, firm, or unbending, and the adjective adamantinus was applied in similar contexts. The English noun adamant (meaning "an unbreakable or extremely hard substance") as well as the adjective adamant ("inflexible" or "unyielding") came from adamas. Adamantine, however—which has such figurative uses as "rigid," "firm," and "unyielding"—came from adamantinus. Adamas is also the source of diamond. Diamas, the Latin term for diamond, is an alteration of adamas.
Examples	"The black-and-white illustrations … conjure up wind-borne snows, cliffs that rear up like waves, and waves that look as adamantine as rock." — Susannah Clapp, The Observer (London), 5 June 2021
Definition	Adamantine means "rigidly firm" or "unyielding." // The laws were adamantine and were inscribed on bronze tablets. // The ushers were adamantine in their refusal to let latecomers into the theater.

Adamantine Adjective Latin Adamas Substance Applied Diamond Term