Semiprecious

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Semiprecious \Sem`i*pre"cious\ (s[e^]m`[i^]*pr[e^]sh"[u^]s), a.
     Somewhat precious; as, semiprecious stones or metals. Used
     mostly of gemstones used in jewelry, such as amethyst,
     garnet, or iolite, which are sufficiently rare to have
     commercial value, but are not considered as {precious}, as
     are the diamond, emerald, and ruby.


     [1913 Webster +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  semiprecious
       adj : used of gemstones having less commercial value than precious
             stones; "such semiprecious stones as amethyst, garnet,
             jade, and tourmaline"