What does turquoise mean?
Word: Turquoise
Part of Speech: Noun, adjective
Meaning: Turquoise means a bright blue-green colour; also a blue-green stone used in jewellery.
Word origin: From Old French turqueise, "Turkish", because the stone first reached Europe through Turkey.
How do you spell turquoise?
Syllables: tur - quoise
Tricky part: The ending sounds like "kwoyz" but is spelt quoise, a French spelling.
Watch out for: turquoyse, turkwoise
Memory tip: Noise and turquoise end with the same o-i-s-e: picture a noisy turquoise parrot squawking on a branch.
Turquoise in a sentence
Example 1: The peacock's neck shimmers in shades of turquoise and royal blue.
Example 2: Ammi bought a turquoise saree for my cousin's engagement.
Example 3: The water at Radhanagar Beach in the Andamans is a clear turquoise.
Fun Fact
Turquoise is one of the softer gemstones, only about 5 to 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it scratches more easily than a pebble of quartz.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
This word comes from French and names a bright blue-green colour.
a) turquoise
b) maroon
c) beige
d) mauve
Show answer
a) turquoise. Beige is a pale brown, maroon a dark brownish red and mauve a pale purple, so only turquoise is blue-green.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. turquoise 2. turnip 3. turmeric 4. turtle
a) 2314
b) 2134
c) 3214
d) 3241
Show answer
c) 3214. All four begin with t-u-r, so the fourth letter decides the order: m, n, q, t.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
The jeweller in Jaipur set a polished terquoise in a silver ring for my aunt.
a) a shiny grey precious metal
b) a person who makes or sells jewellery
c) a sky-blue to greenish gemstone
d) the sister of your mother or father
Show answer
c) a sky-blue to greenish gemstone. The word starts t-u-r, not t-e-r; it names the gem set in the ring.
Jumble Tumble
Which option has letters that you can rearrange to form the name of a colour?
a) acadbrdor
b) neupopcri
c) rsuqtuieo
d) rdwobare
Show answer
c) rsuqtuieo. One set makes turquoise, a colour; the others make porcupine, cardboard and wardrobe.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which natural sight is most often turquoise?
a) a fresh egg yolk
b) a ripe tomato
c) a lump of coal
d) a tropical lagoon
Show answer
d) a tropical lagoon
2. A jeweller is most likely to set turquoise in ___.
a) a steel cooking pot
b) a silver bracelet
c) a glass window pane
d) a leather cricket ball
Show answer
b) a silver bracelet
