ber·yl

(bĕr′əl)

A transparent to translucent glassy mineral, essentially aluminum beryllium silicate, Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈, occurring in hexagonal prisms and constituting the chief source of beryllium. Transparent varieties in white, green, blue, yellow, or pink are valued as gems.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin bēryllus, from Greek bērullos, from bērullion, from Prakrit veruliya, from Pali veḷuriya; perhaps akin to Tamil veḷiru or viḷar, to whiten, become pale.]

ber′yl·line (-ə-lĭn, -līn′) adj.

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.

References in periodicals archive

Beginning with Allen's Hummingbird, an alphabetical listing of the birds extant in North America is presented, including Anna's, Berylline, Black-chinned, Buff Bellied, Calliope and Costa's, and on through Lucifer, Magnificent (Rivoli), Ruby-throated, Rufous, Violet Crowned, and finally White-eared.

Hummingbirds Their Life and Behavior

Finally, the Western Pewee Contopus sordidulus, the Berylline Hummingbird Amazilia berillyna, the Solitary Vireo Vireo solitarius, the Hepatic Tanager Piranga flava, the Black-throated Grey Warbler Dendroica nigrescens, the Gray-breasted Jay Aphelocoma ultramarina and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula which were mixed and oak woodland birds (Table 3).

The influence of vegetation on bird distribution in dry forests and oak woodlands of western Mexico

Among them are the white-eared (Hylocharis leucotis), which bears a heavy white eye stripe and red bill, and the berylline (Amazilia berylline), which is dominantly green.

Hummers of North America

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.