Editing Topaz (section)

==Etymology==
The word "topaz" is usually believed to be derived (via [[Old French]]: Topace and [[Latin]]: Topazius) from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''Τοπάζιος'' (Topázios) or ''Τοπάζιον'' (Topázion),<ref name="etymonline.com">{{OEtymD|topaz}}</ref> from Τοπαζος. This is the ancient name of [[St. John's Island, Egypt|St. John's Island]] in the [[Red Sea]] which was difficult to find and from which a yellow stone (now believed to be [[Peridot|chrysolite]]: yellowish [[olivine]]) was mined in ancient times. The name ''topaz'' was first applied to the mineral now known by that name in 1737.{{sfn|Hurlbut|Klein|1985}} Ancient Sri Lanka ([[Tamraparni]]) exported topazes to Greece and ancient Egypt, which led to the etymologically related names of the island by [[Alexander Polyhistor]] (''Topazius'') and the early Egyptians (''Topapwene'') – "land of the Topaz".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Suckling |first1=Horatio John |title=Ceylon: A General Description of the Island, Historical, Physical, Statistical. Containing the Most Recent Information |date=1876 |publisher=Chapman & Hall |page=[https://archive.org/details/ceylonagenerald02suckgoog/page/n32 10] |url=https://archive.org/details/ceylonagenerald02suckgoog |quote=topaz taprobane. |access-date=28 June 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Astrological Magazine |journal=Astrological Magazine |date=1967 |volume=56 |issue=1–6 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBcPAQAAIAAJ&q=taprobane |access-date=28 June 2019 |language=en}}</ref> [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] said that [[St. John's Island, Egypt|Topazos]] is a ''legendary'' island in the [[Red Sea]] and the mineral "topaz" was first mined there. Alternatively, the word ''topaz'' may be related to the Sanskrit word तपस् "tapas", meaning "heat" or "fire".<ref name="etymonline.com"/>