diadem
    n 1: an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
         [syn: crown, diadem]

Diadem \Di"a*dem\, n. [F. diad[`e]me, L. diadema, fr. Gr. ?, fr.
   ? to bind round; dia` through, across + ? to bind; cf. Skr.
   d[=a] to bind.]
   1. Originally, an ornamental head band or fillet, worn by
      Eastern monarchs as a badge of royalty; hence (later),
      also, a crown, in general. "The regal diadem." --Milton.
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   2. Regal power; sovereignty; empire; -- considered as
      symbolized by the crown.
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   3. (Her.) An arch rising from the rim of a crown (rarely also
      of a coronet), and uniting with others over its center.
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   Diadem lemur. (Zool.) See Indri.

   Diadem spider (Zool.), the garden spider.
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Diadem \Di"a*dem\, v. t.
   To adorn with a diadem; to crown.
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         Not so, when diadem'd with rays divine.  --Pope.
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         To terminate the evil,
         To diadem the right.                     --R. H. Neale.
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Diadem
   the tiara of a king (Ezek. 21:26; Isa. 28:5; 62:3); the turban
   (Job 29:14). In the New Testament a careful distinction is drawn
   between the diadem as a badge of royalty (Rev. 12:3; 13:1;
   19:12) and the crown as a mark of distinction in private life.
   It is not known what the ancient Jewish "diadem" was. It was the
   mark of Oriental sovereigns. (See CROWN.)