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carbuncle
[ kahr-buhng-kuhl ]
/ ˈkɑr bʌŋ kəl /
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noun
Pathology. a painful circumscribed inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue, resulting in suppuration and sloughing, and having a tendency to spread somewhat like a boil, but more serious in its effects.
a gemstone, especially a garnet, cut with a convex back and a cabochon surface.
Also called London brown. a dark grayish, red-brown color.
Obsolete. any rounded red gem.
adjective
having the color carbuncle.
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Origin of carbuncle
1150–1200; Middle English <Anglo-French <Latin carbunculus kind of precious stone, tumor, literally, live coal, equivalent to carbōn- (stem of carbō) burning charcoal + -culus-cule1, apparently assimilated to derivates from short-vowel stems; cf. homunculus
Words nearby carbuncle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use carbuncle in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for carbuncle
carbuncle
/ (ˈkɑːˌbʌŋkəl) /
noun
an extensive skin eruption, similar to but larger than a boil, with several openings: caused by staphylococcal infection
a rounded gemstone, esp a garnet cut without facets
a dark reddish-greyish-brown colour
Derived forms of carbuncle
carbuncled, adjectivecarbuncular (kɑːˈbʌŋkjʊlə), adjectiveWord Origin for carbuncle
C13: from Latin carbunculus diminutive of carbō coal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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