Definition of "balas" [balas]

• A rose-red to orange spinel used as a semiprecious gem, once confused with the ruby. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It is possible that the Arabic word balas, a profligate, wicked person, may have influenced Muhammad in the formation of the word Eblis."
• "The white were pearls; the sparkling and transparent Were diamonds; the deep red were rubies; the paler, a particular sort of ruby called balas; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the violet, amethysts; those tinged with yellow, sapphires."
• "And yet his work stands out from the ruck of the contemporary versifiers as a balas ruby among carrots."