" AMETHYST  (A'METHYST)   n.s.[al  contrary to wine, or contrary to drunkenness; so called, either because it is not quite of the colour of wine, or because it was imagined to prevent inebriation.] A precious stone of a violet colour, bordering on purple. The "

― Samuel Johnson , A Dictionary of the English Language (Complete and Unabridged in Two Volumes), Volume One