'Sapphire' came through Greek and Hebrew — the ancient word probably meant lapis lazuli, not corundum.
A precious gemstone of the mineral corundum, typically blue, though it occurs in every color except red (which is ruby).
From Middle English 'saphir,' from Old French 'safir,' from Latin 'sapphīrus,' from Greek 'sáppheiros' (σάπφειρος), probably ultimately from Sanskrit 'śanipriya' (शनिप्रिय, literally 'dear to Saturn') or from Hebrew 'sappīr' (סַפִּיר), which may derive from Sanskrit 'śanipriya' or from a separate Semitic root. Notably, the ancient 'sappheiros' and 'sappīr' probably referred to lapis lazuli, not to the corundum gemstone we now call sapphire. The transfer of the name to corundum occurred
The 'sapphire' of the ancient world was almost certainly not the gemstone we call sapphire today. When the Bible describes God's throne resting on a pavement of 'sappīr,' or when the Greeks wrote of 'sáppheiros,' they were probably referring to lapis lazuli — a deep blue rock streaked with golden pyrite. The name was transferred to blue