balas
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bal·as
(băl′əs)n.
A rose-red to orange spinel used as a semiprecious gem, once confused with the ruby.
[Middle English, from Old French balais and from Old Spanish balax; both akin to Medieval Latin balascus, from Arabic balaḫš, from Persian Badakhshān, a region of northeast Afghanistan.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
balas
(ˈbæləs; ˈbeɪ-) orbalas ruby
n
(Jewellery) a red variety of spinel, used as a gemstone
[C15: from Old French balais, from Arabic bālakhsh, from Badhakhshān, region in Afghanistan where the gem is found]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bal•as
(ˈbæl əs, ˈbeɪ ləs)n.
a rose-red variety of spinel.
[1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin balas(c)ius < Arabic balakhsh, back formation from Persian Badakhshān district near Samarkand, where gem is found]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  balas - a pale rose-colored variety of the ruby spinelruby spinel, spinel ruby - a spinel used as a gemstone (usually dark red) |
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