adamantine (ad-uh-MAN-teen, -tin) adjective

   1. Unyielding or firm.

   2. Like a diamond in hardness or luster.

[From Middle English, from Old French adamaunt, from Latin adamas, adamant,
hard metal, steel, diamond, etc., from Greek adamas, adamant, a- not + daman,
to conquer.]

   "They become adamantine critics whose distrust of power (governmental
   power, at any rate) is absolute."
   David Aaronovitch, Excuse Me, But What's Wrong With Being Pro-Government?,
   The Independent (London, UK) Dec 24, 1999.

This week's theme: words to describe people.

............................................................................
To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds and watch
their renewal of life -- this is the commonest delight of the race, the
most satisfactory thing a man can do. -Charles Dudley Warner, author,
editor, and publisher (1829-1900)

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/adamantine.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/adamantine.ram