Synopsis "Interesting History of Jade"
Word Origin and History of Jade: "1) Either of two minerals, jadeite or nephrite, sometimes green, highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carvings, jewelry, etc. "2) An object, as a carving, made from this material. "3) Also called jade green. Green, varying from bluish green to yellowish green. "1721, earlier iada (1590s), from French le jade, error for earlier l'ejade, from Spanish piedra de (la) ijada (1560s), 'stone of colic, pain in the side' (jade was thought to cure this), from Vulgar Latin *iliata, from Latin ilia (plural) 'flanks, kidney area' (see ileum)." http: //www.dictionary.com/browse/jade William Bullock; A Companion to the London Museum and Pantherion: Containing a Brief Description of Upwards of Fifteen Thousand Natural and Foreign Curiosities, Antiquities ... Now Open for Public Inspection in the Egyptian Temple, Picadilly, London; 15th edition; 1813 William Bullock writes: "Various kinds of short Hand-clubs, or Pattapattoos, of different forms and materials. They are worn by the natives of the South Seas, in the same manner as daggers are worn by the Asiatics, and are usually made of hard wood, bone, green jade-stone, or basaltes."
