ADAMANT, שמיר shamir, a name anciently used for the diamond, the hardest of all minerals. It is used for cutting or writing upon glass and other hard substances, Jer. xvii. 1. It is also employed figuratively, Ezek. iii. 9 ; Zech. vii. 12. The same name of the diamond is common in Arabia. — Others sup pose it to be the smiris,