Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - garnet

 noun  Etymology: Middle English gernet, from Anglo-French gernete, from gernet dark red, from pume gernete pomegranate  Date: 14th century  1. a brittle and more or less transparent usually red silicate mineral that has a vitreous luster, occurs mainly in crystals but also in massive form and in grains, is found commonly in gneiss and mica schist, and is used as a semiprecious stone and as an abrasive  2. a variable color averaging a dark red  • ~iferous adjective