Word Confusion: Gem vs Jewel vs Stone

Posted February 27, 2024 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

A purple crystal geode with protruding rought amethyst to the left of a cut amethyst jewel.

I was proofing a paper when I was suddenly struck by the stones, gems, and jewels scattered throughout. I got to wondering, is there a difference?

Turns out that a stone can be a gem or a jewel.

A gem, formally known as a gemstone, is an unprocessed stone, an unpolished precious or semiprecious stone, even though some use the terms interchangeably.

On the other hand, a jewel is a refined, polished gemstone that is frequently worn as jewelery or as a valuable wearable object.

Note: The focus in this post is references to things semi-precious and precious, so I’ve ignored the other definitions.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may be curious about “Jewel versus Joule“.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Gem	Jewel	Stone
Gem Pebbles was photographed by Adrian Pingstone and was uploaded by Arpingstone. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.	An Emerald and Diamond Ring is under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Picryl and courtesy of Pinterest. — A colorful jewel set off by many diamonds.	Turquoise Pebble by Adrian Pingstone is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Turquoise is such a gorgeous stone.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Noun; Verb, transitive Plural for the noun: gems Gerund: gemming Third person present verb: gems Past tense or past participle: gemmed Present participle: gemming A.k.a. fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone	Noun Plural: jewels	Noun Plural: stones
Adjective: [Jewelry] Noting perfection or very high quality Noun: A precious or semiprecious stone, especially when cut and polished or engraved Something likened to or prized as such a stone because of its beauty or worth A person considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect Used in names of some brilliantly colored hummingbirds [British; Printing] A 4-point type of a size between brilliant and diamond Verb, transitive: Decorate with or as with gems	Noun: A precious stone, typically a single crystal or piece of a hard lustrous or translucent mineral cut into shape with flat facets or smoothed and polished for use as an ornament [Usually jewels] An ornament or piece of jewelry containing precious stones A very pleasing or valued person or thing A very fine example	Noun: A small piece of rock found on the ground A piece of stone shaped for a purpose, especially one of commemoration, ceremony, or demarcation A gem or jewel [Jewelery] Short for gemstone
Examples:
Adjective: The gem color was not as bright as I’d’ve liked. It was a gem ruby. What if we use those gem appliqués? Noun: Many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic, trigonal, or monoclinic. I can’t believe we’re actually walking in this architectural gem of a palace. His painting was the gem of the collection. The woman is a gem! It was a gem of a book! Back in the day, a 4-point type was referred to as a brilliant while a 5.5-point was referred to as an agate in America and a ruby in Great Britain. Verb, transitive: Tiny drops of sweat gemmed his forehead. The towering mountains are gemmed with clear, cool lakes. Trees after an ice storm are gemmed in sparkling crystals.	Noun: The handle of the sword was decorated with precious jewels. She loved dressing up in her jewels. Seeing the Crown Jewels was amazing. It was in the early 1700s that jewel bearings were first used in watches. She was a jewel of a nurse. Science is the brightest jewel in the crown of our civilization.	Noun: There were stones everywhere on the ground. She lost the stone out of her ring. Quartz crystal is frequently shaped into towers, arrows, and balls. Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious stone that was often used by the ancient Egyptians. Diamonds are considered a precious stone. He wore a gold ring with a small dark red stone. He had a diamond ring with three stones made.
Derivatives:
Adjective: gemlike, gemmed [literary], gemmological, gemmy, gemological Noun: gem stone, gemmology, gemmologist, gemologist, gemology Verb, transitive: begem	Adjective: jewellike	Adjective: stoneless
History of the Word:
Old English gim, from the Latin gemma meaning bud, jewel; influenced in Middle English by the Old French gemme.	Middle English from the Old French joel, from jeu meaning game, play, from the Latin jocus meaning jest.	Old English stān (noun) is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch steen and the German Stein. The verb dates from Middle English.

Gem

Jewel

Stone

Gem Pebbles was photographed by Adrian Pingstone and was uploaded by Arpingstone. It is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

An Emerald and Diamond Ring is under the Public Domain Mark 1.0 license, via Picryl and courtesy of Pinterest.

—

A colorful jewel set off by many diamonds.

A lumpy polished turquoise stone in a roughly triangular shape.

Turquoise Pebble by Adrian Pingstone is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

—

Turquoise is such a gorgeous stone.

Part of Grammar:

Adjective; Noun; Verb, transitive

Plural for the noun: gems
Gerund: gemming

Third person present verb: gems
Past tense or past participle: gemmed
Present participle: gemming

A.k.a. fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone

Noun

Plural: jewels

Noun

Plural: stones

Adjective:
[Jewelry] Noting perfection or very high quality

Noun:
A precious or semiprecious stone, especially when cut and polished or engraved

Something likened to or prized as such a stone because of its beauty or worth
A person considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect
Used in names of some brilliantly colored hummingbirds

[British; Printing] A 4-point type of a size between brilliant and diamond

Verb, transitive:
Decorate with or as with gems

Noun:
A precious stone, typically a single crystal or piece of a hard lustrous or translucent mineral cut into shape with flat facets or smoothed and polished for use as an ornament

[Usually jewels] An ornament or piece of jewelry containing precious stones
A very pleasing or valued person or thing
A very fine example

Noun:
A small piece of rock found on the ground

A piece of stone shaped for a purpose, especially one of commemoration, ceremony, or demarcation

A gem or jewel

[Jewelery] Short for gemstone

Examples:

Adjective:
The gem color was not as bright as I’d’ve liked.

It was a gem ruby.

What if we use those gem appliqués?

Noun:
Many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic, trigonal, or monoclinic.

I can’t believe we’re actually walking in this architectural gem of a palace.

His painting was the gem of the collection.

The woman is a gem!

It was a gem of a book!

Back in the day, a 4-point type was referred to as a brilliant while a 5.5-point was referred to as an agate in America and a ruby in Great Britain.

Verb, transitive:
Tiny drops of sweat gemmed his forehead.

The towering mountains are gemmed with clear, cool lakes.

Trees after an ice storm are gemmed in sparkling crystals.

Noun:
The handle of the sword was decorated with precious jewels.

She loved dressing up in her jewels.

Seeing the Crown Jewels was amazing.

It was in the early 1700s that jewel bearings were first used in watches.

She was a jewel of a nurse.

Science is the brightest jewel in the crown of our civilization.

Noun:
There were stones everywhere on the ground.

She lost the stone out of her ring.

Quartz crystal is frequently shaped into towers, arrows, and balls.

Lapis lazuli is a semi-precious stone that was often used by the ancient Egyptians.

Diamonds are considered a precious stone.

He wore a gold ring with a small dark red stone.

He had a diamond ring with three stones made.

Derivatives:

Adjective: gemlike, gemmed [literary], gemmological, gemmy, gemological
Noun: gem stone, gemmology, gemmologist, gemologist, gemology
Verb, transitive: begem

Adjective: jewellike

Adjective: stoneless

History of the Word:

Old English gim, from the Latin gemma meaning bud, jewel; influenced in Middle English by the Old French gemme.

Middle English from the Old French joel, from jeu meaning game, play, from the Latin jocus meaning jest.

Old English stān (noun) is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch steen and the German Stein.

The verb dates from Middle English.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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