EASTON’S BIBLE DICTIONARY (1897 EDITION)
Amethyst – one of the precious stones in the breastplate of the high priest (Ex. 28:19; 39:12), and in the foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:20).
The ancients thought that this stone had the power of dispelling drunkenness in all who wore or touched it, and hence its Greek name formed from a_, “privative,” and _methuo, “to get drunk.” Its Jewish name, ahlamah’, was derived by the rabbins from the Hebrew word halam, “to dream,” from its supposed power of causing the wearer to dream.
It is a pale-blue crystallized quartz, varying to a dark purple blue.
It is found in Persia and India, also in different parts of Europe.
