Etymology Inherited from Middle English gemme, gimme, yimme, ȝimme, from Old English ġimm, from Proto-West Germanic *gimmu (“gem”) and Old French gemme (“gem”), both from Latin gemma (“a swelling bud; jewel, gem”). Doublet of gemma and Gemma.
A precious stone, usually of substantial monetary value or prized for its beauty or shine.
And on her head she wore a tyre of gold, Adornd with gemmes and owches wondrous fayre, Whose passing price vneath was to be told;1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 144:
Of six preceding ancestors, that gem, Conferr’d by testament to the sequent issue, Hath it been owed and worn. This is his wife; That ring’s a thousand proofs.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
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[…] then silent Night With this her solemn Bird and this fair Moon, And these the Gemms of Heav’n, her starrie train:1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 647-649:
Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.2012 March 23, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012, page 128:
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Figuratively Any precious or highly valued thing or person.
She's an absolute gem.
Standout “Hidden Knives” is the kind of new wave-leaning punk gem John Hughes would’ve loved, while “So Beneath You” is a teeth-baring, roiling tune.2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The Onion AV Club:
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Miller and Mars scoured lower Manhattan and Brooklyn for a brownstone that would meet their needs, but it wasn't until they discovered a gem nestled on a quiet Upper West Side block that they knew they'd found the one.2026 May 23, Lola Ogunnaike, “Major Drama”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 112:
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Broadly, Figuratively Anything of small size, or expressed within brief limits, which is regarded as a gem on account of its beauty or value, such as a small picture, a verse of poetry, or an epigram.
c. 1668, John Denham (translator), Of Old Age by Cato the Elder, Part 3, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: H. Herringman, 4th edition, 1773, p. 35, Then from the Joynts of thy prolifick Stemm A swelling Knot is raised (call’d a Gemm)
Among the crooked Lanes, on every Hedge, / The Glow-Worm lights his Gem […].a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:
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1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xcii, In about twelve days the sprouts from the gems of the planted cane are seen […]
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A geometrid moth of the species Orthonama obstipata.
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A package containing programs or libraries for the Ruby programming language.
2025, Associated Press, Crochet gets 1st career shutout and complete game as Red Sox beat Rays for 9th straight win by Associated Press, He didn’t walk a batter in his 100-pitch gem
Etymology Inherited from Middle English gemme, gimme, yimme, ȝimme, from Old English ġimm, from Proto-West Germanic *gimmu (“gem”) and Old French gemme (“gem”), both from Latin gemma (“a swelling bud; jewel, gem”). Doublet of gemma and Gemma.
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To adorn with, or as if with, gems.
[T]he fair star / That gems the glittering coronet of morn, / Sheds not a light so mild, so powerful, / As that which, bursting from the Fairy's form, / Spread a purpureal halo round the scene, / Yet with an undulating motion, / Swayed to her outline gracefully.1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Canto I”, in Queen Mab; […], London: […] P. B. Shelley, […], →OCLC, page 6:
A few bright and beautiful stars gemmed the wide concave of heaven[…].1827, Various, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10,:
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Above was the firmament, gemmed with worlds, and sublime in immensity.1872, J. Fenimore Cooper, The Bravo:
The rain Shook from fruit bushes in new showers again As I brushed past, and gemmed the window pane.1920, John Freeman, Poems New and Old:
And those salt tears your lashes gemmed / Were but the breath of flame distilled; / Flame white and pure, and diademmed / With suffering,—pain with joy fulfilled.1922 February, Miriam Campbell, “A Dream of Brittany”, in The Educational Times: A Review of Ideas and Methods, volume IV (new series)/LXXIV (old series), page 64, column 1: