I. ˈagə̇t, ˈaig- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin achates, from Greek achatēs
1. : a fine-grained chalcedony frequently mixed with opal and having various colors arranged in stripes or bands, blended in clouds, or showing mosslike forms — see fortification agate , moss agate
2. obsolete : a very small person
I was never manned with an agate till now — Shakespeare
3. : something made of or fitted with agate: as
a. : a drawplate having a drilled eye of agate used by gold-wire drawers
b. : a bookbinder's burnisher with an agate tip
c. : a playing marble of agate or of glass resembling agate
4. : a size of type between pearl and nonpareil, approximately 5 1/2 point — called also ruby ; compare point system
5. : iron-oxide red
II. adjective
: of or resembling agate ; especially : of the color of agate
his brown agate eyes — Oscar Wilde
III. əˈgāt adverb (or adjective)
Etymology: a- (I) + gate (way)
1. dialect Britain : on the way : in motion
2. dialect Britain
a. : going on : astir
b. : amiss , wrong
what's agate now