carbuncle

[ kahr-buhng-kuhl ]
See synonyms for carbuncle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.

  2. a gemstone, especially a garnet, cut with a convex back and a cabochon surface.

  1. Also called Lon·don brown [luhn-duhn broun] /ˈlʌn dən ˈbraʊn/ . a dark grayish, red-brown color.

  2. Obsolete. any rounded red gem.

adjective
  1. having the color carbuncle.

Origin of carbuncle

1
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

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British Dictionary definitions for carbuncle

carbuncle

/ (ˈkɑːˌbʌŋkəl) /


noun
  1. an extensive skin eruption, similar to but larger than a boil, with several openings: caused by staphylococcal infection

  2. a rounded gemstone, esp a garnet cut without facets

  1. a dark reddish-greyish-brown colour

Origin of carbuncle

1
C13: from Latin carbunculus diminutive of carbō coal

Derived forms of carbuncle

  • carbuncled, adjective
  • carbuncular (kɑːˈbʌŋkjʊlə), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012