It means sapphire in English and is a blue colored crystallized corundum. It is a precious stone. It is a mineral composed of aluminum oxide, with a blue color and extraordinary hardness, which is used to cut diamonds. It is a variety of corundum.
SYNONYMS FOR Zafiro
- Precious stone
- Blue-colored mineral
- Crystallized corundum
ORIGIN OF Zafiro
It comes from the Latin sapphirus, this one from the Greek sappheiros and this one from the Hebrew sappir, which means neat. It refers to a bluish gemstone that belongs to the corundum family. It is one of the most relevant and valuable gemstones on the planet, along with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.
It should be noted that in Greek it is mostly a borrowing that is also found in Semitic languages, while in Hebrew sappir, it does not mean neat at all, but rather denotes the precious stone.
It probably came from Persian which then passed into Greek and in Theophrastus, sappheiros properly denotes lapis lazuli. It may also come from the Arabic safir.
In Spanish it was known in 1250 as cafí and cafil and in the 14th century as cafir. There is also a theory that explains that its origin is from the Sanskrit sanipriya, which meant “precious stone of the planet Saturn”, formed by sani (Saturn) and priya (precious).
CURIOSITIES OF Zafiro
Zafiro (Sapphire) is a stone known for its excellent spiritual properties since ancient times and many cultures consider it sacred. In the Bible it is mentioned on several occasions and in some of them it represents the glory of God.
One of the best known passages is when this stone was used in the breastplate of the Hebrew high priest, which along with other stones symbolized the holiness and judgment of God and this was very important for the offices of the priest himself.