Amethyst Definition

Origin of Amethyst

• Middle English amatist from Old French from Latin amethystus from Greek amethustos not drunk or intoxicating, remedy for intoxication, amethyst a- not a–¹ methuskein to intoxicate (from methuein to be drunk) (from methu wine medhu- in Indo-European roots)

  From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

• Middle English ametist, from Old French ametiste (French améthyste), from Ancient Greek ἀμέθυστος (amethustos, “not drunk”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μεθύω (methuō, “I am drunk”), from μέθυ (methu, “wine”). The Greeks believed that the amethyst prevented intoxication.

  From Wiktionary