Hello. Unfortunately, I can’t ascertain to the whereabouts of my original post. I don’t know if it was deleted; if it was, it was done before I had a chance to retrieve it, read it and respond.

I’d like to know if the gemstone, malachite, or if mallow, has been used in the figurative or metaphorical sense?
Please let me know. Thank you.

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Seriously, I’d like to know. I went elsewhere to ask some linguists at another site-they didn’t have an answer. I want to know if "malachite," the gemstone, has been used in any other context other than its regular use.
Does "a sea of malachite", refer to the color, or the gemstone?

Despite the remarkable wisdom at the disposal of the public through the members of this website (:P), surely no one can answer the question as it is originally phrased, and you must know that, JGoldman10.

However, my ear would prefer to hear "malachite sea/waters/etc." in the figurative/expressive sense, whereas "sea of malachite" sounds more like a descriptive/literal phrase.

-Tim

The OED 2nd edition shows that malachite has been used attributely-does that imply that it can be used metaphorically/figuratively? What I mean is, can someone/something be referred to as "malachite", or their attributes (he had malachite eyes, or eyes like malachite, e.g.)?

Having seen the malachite room in the Hermitage in St. Petersburgh, I don’t care what you call it. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life, on par with experiencing the Mexican Chichen Itza. Imagine some 2.5 tons of malachite from the Ural mountains, shaped into every conceivable form: tables, thrones, mosaic floors, you name it.

I did a google search on "poetry" and "malachite" and found this site.  It seems to me that the adjectival use of "malachite" in the phrase "malachite dream" is more figurative than literal.

BNJTOKYO
whose green ideas sleep furiously

Here is the poem referencing "sea of malachite" I found for you when replying to your orginal post questioning that phrase.

Since it seems unlikely that the poet would have been referring to a literal sea of malachite this phrase probably referred to the colors in the water (and possibly the striated appearance, in the case of storms?).

I am still unclear as to whether your question was an attempt to differentiate between figurative and metaphorical usages, or if you were looking for other poetic examples. I would guess that you could use this word to refer to color, banding, or hardness: "she narrowed her malachite eyes at him". If you are speaking poetically, how this word can be used is limited only by your imagination.

I see that bnjtokyo posted another site for you with photos of and qualities associated with this gemstone. That might give you some more ideas.

gailr

bnjtokyo: maybe you need a more calming green, like jade. :D

I’m looking for uses of the gemstone malachite, particulary as "physical embodiments (of hardness)." Has it ever been used as a nickname or a terms for a first-rate person/thing, or as a term for something of great value or beauty?

Gailr, how do you know that when the phrase "sea of malachite" was coined, that the writer wasn’t calling the sea that, because he was alluding to the sea’s malachite-like qualities, and that the writer was using the malachite in the metaphorical sense? And that the phrase wasn’t used along the lines of, i.e., "heart of gold", "he’s a real diamond", or a "bed of crystal/ruby/emerald?"
YEs, I’m looking for poetic, fig., transfig. and metaphorical uses (and other literary senses) for the gem malachite, not the color. It has been used attributively.

Like I said, I’d like to think that "malachite" can be or has been used as a nickname, or as a term to describe somone/-thing of great worth or beauty, but has it? Often writers and poets have refered to objects or people as gemstones, and flowers.

According to the OED, malachite has been used attributely-so hypothetically, if I named a character "Malachite", would that be acceptable?

Please respond.

Gailr, how do you know the poet wasn’t speaking figuratively/metaphorically when he was referring to a body of water as a "sea of malachite"?

Does anyone know the etymolgy of malachite? Does it stem from a word meaning "stone" or "green stone"?

For any word that’s used attributively, is it implied that the word is used (or can be used) figuratively, or metaphorically?

[quote author=JGoldman10 link=board=omni;num=1098401803;start=0#13 date=11/14/04 at 19:06:29] . . . Does anyone know the etymolgy of malachite? Does it stem from a word meaning "stone" or "green stone"?
. . .

According to yDc’s AHD entry for malachite:

[Middle English melochite, from Latin molochtes, from Greek molokhtis, from malakh, molokh, mallow, of Semitic origin; see ml in Semitic roots.]

[quote author=JGoldman10 link=board=omni;num=1098401803;start=0#13 date=11/14/04 at 19:06:29]For any word that’s used attributively, is it implied that the word is used (or can be used) figuratively, or metaphorically?

What do you mean, exactly?

As I read this, I can’t help but think that you are, perhaps, forcing too much distinction.  Usage creates its own allowances, to a large degree.  In the ancient days, the creation of object names was all of the above: attributive, figurative, and metaphorical.

-Tim