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Adamant and similar words are used to refer to any especially hard substance, whether composed of diamond, some other gemstone, or some type of metal. Both adamant and diamond derive from the Greek word αδαμας (adamas), meaning "untameable". Adamantite and adamantium (a metallic name derived from the Neo-Latin ending -ium) are also common variants. Adamant is a poetic term used to refer to any especially hard substance. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Look up hardness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... For other uses, see Gemstone (disambiguation). ... This article is about metallic materials. ... New Latin (or Neo-Latin) is a post-medieval version of Latin, now used primarily in International Scientific Vocabulary cladistics and systematics. ...

Throughout ancient history, "adamantine" referred to anything that was made of a very hard material. Virgil describes Tartarus as having a screeching gate protected by columns of solid adamantine (Aeneid book VI). Later, by the Middle Ages, the term came to refer to diamond, as it was the hardest material then known. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... In classic Greek mythology, below Heaven, Earth, and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros (Greek Τάρταρος, deep place). ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese, Rome The Aeneid (IPA English pronunciation: ; in Latin Aeneis, pronounced — the title is Greek in form: genitive case Aeneidos) is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This article is about the gemstone. ...

It was in the Middle Ages, too, that adamantine hardness and the lodestone's magnetic properties became confused and combined, leading to an alternate definition in which "adamant" means magnet, falsely derived from the Latin adamare, which means to love or be attached to.^[1] Another connection was the belief that adamant (the diamond definition) could block the effects of a magnet. This was addressed in chapter III of Pseudodoxia Epidemica, for instance. Magnetite Lodestone or loadstone refers to either: Magnetite, a magnetic mineral form of iron(II), iron(III) oxide Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides. ... Sir Thomas Brownes vast work refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, first appeared in 1646 and went through five editions, the last revision occurring in 1672. ...

Since the word diamond is now used for the hardest gemstone, the increasingly archaic "adamant" — and its adjectival form "adamantine" — has a mostly poetic or figurative use. In that capacity, the name is frequently used in popular media and fiction to refer to a very hard substance. This article is about the art form. ...

Examples of use

• In Norse mythology, Loki is bound underground by adamantine chains. (In some versions, his chains are made from the intestines of his son.)
• In the Medieval epic poem The Faerie Queene Sir Artagel's sword is made of Adamant.
• In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings it is said in the second verse of Bilbo's Song of Eärendil, regarding the appearance of Eärendil; "Of adamant his helmet tall". Additionally, at the crowning of King Elessar, it is said that his crown "was adorned with jewels of adamant".
• In the internet game Runescape, adamant is a metal mixed with coal and is used to make weaponary. It is the third strongest material in the game.
• In the King James Version of the Bible the word adamant is also used in several verses, including:

  "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 3:9) Other, later translations substitute the word diamond for adamant.

Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... It has been suggested that Loki and the dwarfs be merged into this article or section. ... Una and the Lion by Briton Rivière The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser, published first in three books in 1590, and later in six books in 1596. ... Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (Greek Χρυσάωρ, golden falchion, from χρυσός, gold, and ἄορ, sword, falchion) was a giant, the son of Poseidon and Medusa. ... John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English philologist, writer and university professor, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ... This article is about the novel. ... For the Anglo-Saxon name, see Earendel. ... RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Ezekiel (Hebrew: יחזקאל, ) is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible of the Book of Ezekiel. ...

See also

• Adamantane, a bulky hydrocarbon
• Adamantine, a real mineral
• Adamantium in the Marvel Universe.
• A list of fictional chemical substances.
• Mithril, a strong, silvery metal from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
• Vajra, an adamantine ritual implement in Tantric Buddhism

Adamantane (Tricyclo[3. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... Adamantine is a mineral, often referred to as adamantine spar. ... Adamantium is a fictional chemical substance and metal alloy in the Marvel comics universe. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Fictional chemical substances are compounds or minerals that exist only in works of fiction (usually fantasy or science fiction). ... Mithril is a fictional metal from J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth fantasy writings. ... John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English philologist, writer and university professor, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. ... This article is about the novel. ... Vajrasattva holds the vajra in his right hand and a bell in his left hand. ... A mandala used in Vajrayana Buddhist practices. ...

References

1. ^ Webster's dictionary definition of adamant, 1828 and 1913 editions