Agate

Definition: Agate

Agate

Noun

1. An impure form of quartz consisting of banded chalcedony; used as a gemstone and for making mortars and pestles.

Date "agate" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1594. (references)

Domain	Definitions
Industry	Variety of quartz. Source: European Union. (references)
Bible	Agate (Heb. shebo), a precious stone in the breast-plate of the high priest (Ex. 28:19; 39:12), the second in the third row. This may be the agate properly so called, a semi-transparent crystallized quartz, probably brought from Sheba, whence its name. In Isa. 54:12 and Ezek. 27:16, this word is the rendering of the Hebrew cadcod, which means "ruddy," and denotes a variety of minutely crystalline silica more or less in bands of different tints. This word is from the Greek name of a stone found in the river Achates in Sicily. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Dream Interpretation	To see agate in a dream, signifies a slight advancement in business affairs. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....
Literature	Agate (2 syl.) So called, says Pliny (xxxvii. 10), from Achates or Gagates, a river in Sicily, near which it is found in abundance. "These, these are they, if we consider well, That saphirs and the diamonds doe excell, The pearle, the emerauld, and the turkesse bleu, The sanguine corrall, amber's golden hiew, The christall, jacinth, achate, ruby red." Taylor: The Waterspout (1630). Agate is supposed to render a person invisible, and to turn the sword of foes against themselves. Agate A very diminutive person. Shakespeare speaks of Queen Mab as no bigger than an agate-stone on the forefinger of an alderman. "I was never manned with an agate till now." Shakespeare: 2 Hen. IV.i.2. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Mining	A. A kind of silica consisting mainly of chalcedony in variegated bands or other patterns; commonly occupying vugs in volcanic and other rocks b. A translucent cryptocrystalline variety of variegated chalcedony commonly mixed or alternating with opal and characterized by colors arranged in alternating stripes or bands, in irregular clouds, or in mosslike forms; occurs in virtually all colors, generally of low intensity, in vugs in volcanic rocks and cavities in some other rocks. CF:onyxmoss agate. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Agate is a term applied not to a distinct mineral species, but to an aggregate of various forms of silica, chiefly Chalcedony.

According to Theophrastus the agate (achates) was named from the river Achates, now the Drillo, in Sicily, where the stone was first found.

Moss agate pebble,
one inch long (2.5 cm).
Larger version

Most agates occur as nodules in eruptive rocks, or ancient lavas, where they represent cavities originally produced by the disengagement of vapour in the molten mass, and since filled, wholly or partially, by siliceous matter deposited in regular layers upon the walls. Such agates, when cut transversely, exhibit a succession of parallel lines, often of extreme tenuity, giving a banded appearance to the section, whence such stones are known as banded agate, riband agate and striped agate.

In the formation of an ordinary agate, it is probable that waters containing silica in solution -- derived, perhaps, from the decomposition of some of the silicates in the lava itself -- percolated through the rock, and deposited a siliceous coating on the interior of the vapour-vesicles. Variations in the character of the solution, or in the conditions of deposit, may have caused corresponding variation in the successive layers, so that bands of chalcedony often alternate with layers of crystalline quartz, Several vapour-vesicles may unite while the rock is viscous, and thus form a large cavity which may become the home of an agate of exceptional size; thus a Brazilian geode, lined with amethyst, of the weight of 35 tons, was exhibited at the Dusseldorf Exhibition of 1902.

The first deposit on the wall of a cavity, forming the "skin" of the agate, is generally a dark greenish mineral substance, like celadonite, delessite or "green earth," which are rich in iron, derived probably from the decomposition of the augite in the mother-rock. This green silicate may give rise by alteration to a brown oxide of iron (limonite), producing a rusty appearance on the outside of the agate-nodule. The outer surface of an agate, freed from its matrix, is often pitted and rough, apparently in consequence of the removal of the original coating. The first layer spread over the wall of the cavity has been called the "priming," and upon this basis zeolitic minerals may be deposited.

Banded agate. The specimen is
one inch (2.5 cm) wide.
Larger version

Many agates are hollow, since deposition has not proceeded far enough to fill the cavity, and in such cases the last deposit commonly consists of quartz, often amethyst, having the apices of the crystals directed towards the free space, so as to form a crystal-lined cavity or geode.

A Mexican agate, showing only a single eye, has received the name of "cyclops." Included matter of a green colour, like fragments of "green earth," embedded in the chalcedony and disposed in filaments and other forms suggestive of vegetable growth, gives rise to moss agate.

Certain stones, when examined in thin sections by transmitted light, show a diffraction spectrum, due to the extreme delicacy of the successive bands, whence they are termed rainbow agates.

On the disintegration of the matrix in which the agates are embedded, they are set free, and, being by their siliceous nature extremely resistant to the action of air and water, remain as nodules in the soil and gravel, or become rolled as pebbles in the streams.

Crosswords: Agate

English words defined with "agate": Achate, agate line, agateware, Agatine, Agatize, Agaty ♦ Burnisher ♦ Dendrachate ♦ Eye agate, Eyestone ♦ Fortification agate ♦ Gagate ♦ Hemachate ♦ Jaspachate, Jasperated ♦ milline, moss agate ♦ Phassachate ♦ Sardachate, Straticulate. (references)

Specialty definitions using "agate": AGATE BEARING, agate jasper, agate opal, AGATE SETTER, agatized wood ♦ clouded agate ♦ dendritic markings, dyed agate ♦ fire agate, flour agate ♦ Gamaheu ♦ Iceland agate ♦ Jewels ♦ Lake Superior agate, landscape agate ♦ medfordite, Mocha stone, Montana agate ♦ point agate, point chalcedony ♦ ruin agate ♦ thunder egg, tree agate, tree stone ♦ white agate, wood agate. (references)

Etymologies containing "agate": Achatina ♦ Phassachate ♦ Sardachate. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Agate" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses.

French (agate).

Domain	Title
References	Agate Technologies, Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Agate Fossil Beds: Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska (024-005-00785-7) (reference) AGATE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis [DOWNLOAD: ADOBE READER] (reference) Akro Agate Price Guide: Featuring the Complete Line, Marbles, General Line, Child's Dishes (REV) (reference) Sparkling Splendours: The Art of Ancient Chinese Carving on Rock, Crystal and Agate (The Taoshi Zhai Collection) (reference) The Collector's Encyclopedia of Akro Agate Glassware (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Shootin' the Agate (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Schoheim Road and PPL line on Agate Flat.Credit: Frank Lang.		Agate Desert Lomatium, Cook's Desert Parsley (Lomatium cookii).Credit: Terry Tuttle.
	Douglas Violet (Viola douglasii) in the Agate Desert.Credit: Terry Tuttle.		Agate Fossil Beds National Monument.Credit: NPS.
	Agate Burnishers.Credit: National Library of Medicine.		Chinook lodge / drawn by A.T. Agate ; R.W. Dawson sc.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Concomely's tomb, Astoria / drawn by A.T. Agate ; W.E. Tucker sc.Credit: Library of Congress.		Agate, Nebraska.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Round-up at Moss Agate of T. 999 A.S. & G., A.U.T. and others.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Economic History	Georgia	There are many high quality raw materials used in the chemical industry such as: barite, diatomite, agate, bentonite, clays, andezite, talcum, and calcite. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Agate" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 52.38% of the time. "Agate" is used about 21 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	52.38%	11	106,044
Noun (proper)	42.86%	9	117,287
Lexical Verb (base form)	4.76%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	21	N/A

Country	Name
USA	Agate Technologies, Inc.
	(more examples...)

1. Agate, CO
Zip Code(s): 80101
Country: USA

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Expressions: Agate

Expressions using "agate": agate line ♦ dyed agate ♦ Eye agate ♦ Fortification agate ♦ moss agate. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "agate": agate-coloured, agate-veined.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Agate

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day
agate	482
lake superior agate	51
agate metaphysical properties yellow	26
moss agate	26
akro agate	20
agate fairburn	20
condor agate	19
fire agate	17
blue lace agate	17
agate beach	15
agate co	14
agate stone	14
blue agate	12
agate laguna	12
crater agate	10
agate argentinean	10
puma agate	10
agate cameo	10
agate jewelry	10
agate beach best western	10
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Agate

Language		Translations for "agate"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaan		agaat. (various references)

Albanian		agat. (various references)

Arabic		‏يشب شئ مصنوع من العقيق, ‏عقيق نبات. (various references)

Bulgarian		шрифт от 5 1/2 пункта, ахат. (various references)

Chinese		玛瑙, 瑙 , � � (inferior gem). (various references)

Czech		achát. (various references)

Danish		agat. (various references)

Dutch		agaten, agaat, natuurlijk agaat. (various references)

Esperanto		agato. (various references)

Farsi		سنگ قیمتی (Stone), عقیق . (various references)

Finnish		agaatti. (various references)

French		agate (agate line). (various references)

German		Achat. (various references)

Greek		στοιχεία πεντέμισι στιγμών, αχάτησ λίθοσ, αχάτης φυσικός. (various references)

Hebrew		שחרון, שבו (whereby), אכטיס, אכט, ברקת (emerald). (various references)

Hungarian		achát. (various references)

Indonesian		akik (carnelian), batu akik. (various references)

Italian		agata. (various references)

Japanese Kanji		瑪瑙 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		めのう. (various references)

Korean		마노. (various references)

Manx		lurg (after, after time), geiyrt er (ensuing), clagh schimmeigagh, agaid. (various references)

Pig Latin		agateay

Portuguese		ágata. (various references)

Romanian		agat. (various references)

Russian		агат. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		ahat. (various references)

Spanish		ágata. (various references)

Swedish		agat. (various references)

Turkish		akik (sardonyx), misket (ball, grapeshot, marble, muscadine, Taw), kantaşı (bloodstone, haematite, heliotrope, specular iron, styptic pencil), bilye (ball, ball bearing, ballbearing, marble, Taw). (various references)

Ukranian		агат. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Agate

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	achates. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Agate

Language	Date	Source	Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 12
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Kai thn kataleifqeisan uakinqon kai porfuran kai to kokkinon epoihsan stolaV leitourgikaV aarwn wste leitourgein en autaiV en tw agiw
Latin	405	Vulgate	In tertio ligyrius achates amethistus
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	In the thridde, ligury, achatese, amatist;
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	The .iij. rowe: Ligurios, an Achat ad a Amatist.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Agate

Language	Exodus Chapter 39, Verse 12
Bulgarian	третият ред: лигирий, агат, аметист;
Cebuano	Sa ikatolo ka laray, usa ka jacinto, usa ka agata, ug usa ka amatista.
Chinese	第三行是紫瑪瑙、白瑪瑙、紫晶。
Croatian	treæi red od hijacinta, ahata i leca;
Danish	Hyacint, Agat og Ametyst i den tredje,
Dutch	En de derde rij van een Hyacint, Agaat, en Amethist.
Finnish	kolmanteen riviin hyasintti, akaatti ja ametisti;
French	troisième rangée, une opale, une agate, une améthyste;
German	die dritte ein Lynkurer, Achat und Amethyst;
Haitian Creole	Nan twazyèm ranje a, yo mete yon pyè opal, yon pyè agat ak yon pyè ametis.
Hungarian	A harmadik sor: jáczint, agát és amethiszt.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Di baris ketiga batu lazuardi, akik dan batu kecubung.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Dan jajar yang ketiga itu dari pada sebiji permata pusparagam dan sebiji permata syabu dan sebiji permata martis.
Italian	La terza fila: un giacinto, un'� gata e una ametista.
Korean	세 째 줄 은 호 박, 백 마 노, 자 수 � � 이 �"
Maori	Ko te rarangi tuatoru, he rikuri, he akete, he ametihita.
Modern Greek	Και η τριτη σειρα, λιγυριον, αχατης και αμεθυστος.
Norwegian	og i den tredje rad en hyasint, en agat og en ametyst,
Portuguese	a terceira fileira era de um jacinto, uma ágata e uma ametista;
Rumanian	kn al treilea wir: un opal, un agat wi un ametist;
Russian	Ч ФТЕФШЕН ТС�"Х: СИПОФ, БЗБФ Й БНЕФЙУФ;
Spanish	La tercera hilera tenía un jacinto, un ágata y una amatista.
Swedish	i tredje raden en hyacint, en agat och en ametist;
Thai	แถวที่สามฝังนิล โมราและพลอยสีม่วง
Ukrainian	А ряд третій: опаль, агат і аметист.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Agate

Derivations
	Words beginning with "agate": agates. (additional references)
	Words ending with "agate": divagate, extravagate, indagate, propagate, runagate. (additional references)
	Words containing "agate": bagatelle, bagatelles, divagated, divagates, extravagated, extravagates, indagated, indagates, propagated, propagates, runagates. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Agate" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aage, Aata, adate, Aegae, afate, Agace, agade, Agadez, agae, agait, agale, Agalev, agalevn, agame, agane, Agastya, Agat, agated, Agathe, agati, agave, Agebe, agente, agett, Aggaatcg, Aggater, aggte, Aghalee, agiate, agire, agit, agita, agite, agot, agote, agotte, Agrate, agrated, Agut, ajute, Algarth, algat, Algate, Amate, amati, anate, Angoche, apate, arate, Arati, Arato, argate, atage, atgate, avante, avat, avate, avgarea, ayat, Azato, dagarti, egate, egated, egote, gaete, Gataker, gaute, lgate, mawatte, nagate, nagato, Oggetti, raggatip, Sagatal, Sagette, Zarate. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Agate"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "agate" (pronounced a"gut)
4	a" g u t	faggot, maggot.
3	-g u t	aggregate, argot, bigot, ergot, frigate, gigot, ingot, legate, nugget, spigot, surrogate, target.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Agate

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-a-e-g-t"
	-1 letter: gate, geta.
	-2 letters: aga, age, ate, eat, eta, gae, gat, get, tae, tag, tea, teg.
	-3 letters: aa, ae, ag, at, et, ta.
	Words containing the letters "a-a-e-g-t"
	+1 letter: agates, agnate, gateau.
	+2 letters: agamete, agatize, agitate, agnates, cartage, galatea, galeate, gallate, galleta, gastrea, gateaus, gateaux, gateman, gateway, getaway, gradate, magenta, magnate, nametag, pageant, regatta, regmata, tallage, tanager, tankage, tannage, teargas, thanage, vantage, waftage, wantage, wastage, wattage.
	+3 letters: ablegate, abnegate, abrogate, aerating, agametes, agatized, agatizes, agential, ageratum, agiotage, agitable, agitated, agitates, agminate, agrestal, alginate, almagest, angulate, argental, arrogate, bregmata, cabotage, cartages, chantage, divagate, enigmata, floatage, galateas, galeated, gallates, galletas, gastraea, gastreas, gateways, getaways, glabrate, glaciate, gladiate, gradated, gradates, graduate, graftage, headgate, indagate, magentas, magnates, megastar, megawatt, nametags, navigate, pageants, paginate, regattas, runagate, sabotage, savagest, stagnate, stargaze, stealage, stravage, tailgate, tallaged, tallages, tanagers, tankages, tannages, thanages, trackage, vaginate, vantages, waftages, wantages, wastages, waterage, wattages.
	+4 letters: ablegates, abnegated, abnegates, abnegator, abrogated, abrogates, advantage, ageratums, aggravate, aggregate, agiotages, agitative, alginates, allegiant, almagests, analgetic, angulated, angulates, antiglare, aragonite, arbitrage, argumenta, arrogated, arrogates, backstage, bagatelle, cabotages, carpetbag, cartilage, caseating, castigate, cataloged, cataloger, catalogue, caveating, chantages, ciguatera, coagulate, divagated, divagates, emanating, factorage, fatigable, floatages, galactose, galantine, gallanted, gastraeas, gastrulae, genitalia, getatable, glaciated, glaciates, glutamate, graduated, graduates, graftages, grantable, granulate, gratulate, gravitate, greatcoat, guarantee, headgates, indagated, indagates, kerygmata, manganate, manganite, margarite, marginate, megadeath, megastars, megawatts, navigated, navigates, pageantry, paginated, paginates, parentage, pasturage, patronage, pentagram, propagate, regardant, runagates, sabotaged, sabotages, sagittate, scapegoat, stageable, stagehand, stagnated, stagnates, stargazed, stargazer, stargazes, stealages, stratagem, stravaged, stravages, tailgated, tailgater, tailgates, teargases, termagant, trackages, tragedian, variegate, waterages.
	+5 letters: abnegating, abnegation, abnegators, abreacting, acerbating, acierating, advantaged, advantages, afterimage, aggravated, aggravates, aggregated, aggregates, agitatedly, algebraist, alienating, allegation, amalgamate, analgetics, anecdotage, antagonize, antedating, antiplague, aragonites, arbitraged, arbitrager, arbitrages, arctangent, arpeggiate, asperating, autogamies, bagatelles, baronetage, caretaking, carpetbags, cartilages, castigated, castigates, catalogers, catalogued, cataloguer, catalogues, catenating, ciguateras, coagulated, coagulates, deaerating, deflagrate, dramaturge, emaciating, emarginate, eradiating, escalating, evacuating, evaluating, exaggerate, excavating, extralegal, factorages, fastigiate, flagellant, flagellate, flagstaves, fragmental, galactoses, galantines, galavanted, galivanted, gametangia, gastrulate, glutamates, granulated, granulates, gratulated, gratulates, gravitases, gravitated, gravitates, greatcoats, guaranteed, guarantees, guarantied, guaranties, halogenate, heptagonal, inaugurate, ingratiate, interabang, invaginate, lacerating, lateraling, laureating, macerating, magistrate, management, manganates, manganites, margarites, marginated, marginates, margravate, martingale, megadeaths, megagamete, metagalaxy, nauseating, negational, paramagnet, parentages, pasturages, patronages, pentagonal, pentagrams, plateauing, plateglass, propagated, propagates, quarterage, ravagement, readapting, sagacities, scapegoats, separating, smaragdite, stagecoach, stagecraft, stagehands, stalagmite, stargazers, sterigmata, stratagems, stravaiged, tailgaters, tangential, tardigrade, targetable, teargassed, teargasses, termagants, tetragonal, tragedians, variegated, variegates, variegator, vegetarian.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Agate

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

41 67 61 74 65

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

⁼

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.- --. .- - .

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01000001 01100111 01100001 01110100 01100101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#65 &#103 &#97 &#116 &#101

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0041 0067 0061 0074 0065

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

3573678671

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Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Jewelry	Diamond, brilliant, rock; beryl, emerald; chalcedony, agate, heliotrope; girasol, girasole; onyx, plasma; sard, sardonyx; garnet, lapis lazuli, opal, peridot, tourmaline, chrysolite; sapphire, ruby, synthetic ruby; spinel, spinelle; balais; oriental, oriental topaz; turquois, turquoise; zircon, cubic zirconia; jacinth, hyacinth, carbuncle, amethyst; alexandrite, cat's eye, bloodstone, hematite, jasper, moonstone, sunstone.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Agate

Definition: Agate

Agate

Noun

Specialty Definitions: Agate

Specialty Definition: Agate

Synonyms within Context: Agate

Jewelry

Crosswords: Agate

Commercial Usage: Agate

References

Books

Music

Image Slideshow: Agate

Photos:Agate

Illustrations:Agate

Photo Album: Agate

Non-Fiction Usage: Agate

Usage Frequency: Agate

Usage in Company Names: Agate

Agate Technologies, Inc.

Cities: Agate

Expressions: Agate

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Agate

agate

lake superior agate

agate metaphysical properties yellow

moss agate

akro agate

agate fairburn

condor agate

fire agate

blue lace agate

agate beach

agate co

agate stone

blue agate

agate laguna

crater agate

agate argentinean

puma agate

agate cameo

agate jewelry

agate beach best western

Modern Translations: Agate

Afrikaan

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Farsi

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Korean

Manx

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukranian

Ancestral Language Translations: Agate

Bible Trace: Agate

Matched Bible Translations: Agate

Derivations & Misspellings: Agate

Photos:
Agate

Illustrations:
Agate