The name by which we know it first appeared during the Renaissance, derived from a Romance language, possibly on the basis of a misunderstanding regarding one of its sources. However, many countries and cultures have used it decoratively, from the ancient Egyptians to the Native Americans, and quite a few of these have considered that it possesses special protective qualities. Some scholars believe that it once adorned a famous breastplate. What is it, and who wore that breastplate?

queproblema

It is lapis lazuli, and was possibly on the breastplate that the high priest, Aaron, wore in the tabernacle of Moses. http://www.mineralminers.com/html/lapminfo.htm Dec 30 06, 6:45 PM

lanfranco

Oh, so close! Even the color is almost right, and the breastplate is absolutely correct. But think about that word from a Romance language. In the Renaissance. Dec 30 06, 6:55 PM

zbeckabee

Turquoise. Dec 30 06, 7:10 PM

zbeckabee

Whoops...forgot my link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise#History_of_use Dec 30 06, 7:13 PM

queproblema

OK, I guess you're looking for "turquoise." "The substance has been known by many names, but the word turquoise was derived around 16th century from the French language either from the word for Turkish (Turquois) or dark-blue stone (pierre turquin).[1] This may have arisen from a misconception: turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded at Turkish bazaars to Venetian merchants who brought it to Europe." (from the Wikipedia article on turquoise.) But I can't help but quibble. Here's what Wikipedia says about lapis lazuli: "The first part of the name is the Latin lapis, meaning stone. The second part, lazuli, is the genitive form of the medieval Latin lazulum, which came from Arabic (al-)lazward, which came from Persian لاژورد lāzhward. This was originally a place-name, but soon came to mean blue because of its association with the stone. English azure, Spanish and Portuguese azul, Italian azzurro also derives from this source. Taken as a whole, lapis lazuli means stone of azure." But on second thought, Latin is the mother of the Romance languages, not one itself. And it says that Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian take their names for "blue" from the stone, not vice versa. So, OK, you're right. I've associated lapis lazuli more with Egypt and turquoise more with the American Southwest. McGruff should be glad I learned something. Dec 30 06, 7:19 PM

lanfranco

Well, I'll split the mace between qp and zbeck, but I did mention Native Americans specifically so as to provide a turquoise clue. The "Renaissance" clue was also intended to be specific as to the Romance language. The Egyptians produced spectacular examples of turquoise inlay, several of which I saw in the recent Tutankhamen exhibition at Chicago's Field Museum. Dec 30 06, 7:50 PM