carbuncle

carbuncle

English

Etymology

From Middle English carbuncle, charbocle, from Old French carbuncle, charbuncle, from Latin carbunculus (“a small coal; a reddish kind of precious stone; a kind of tumor”), diminutive of carbō (“a coal, charcoal”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑː.bʌŋ.kl̩/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑɹˌbʌŋ.kl̩/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

carbuncle (plural carbuncles)

1. (archaic) A deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark red precious stone, especially when cut cabochon.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act II, scene 2, line 401:

     With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus […]

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Isaiah 54:12:

     And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

   • 1634, Thomas Herbert, A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. Into Afrique and the Greater Asia, especially the Territories of the Persian Monarchie: And some Parts of the Orientall Indies, and Iles Adiacent. Of their Religion, Language, Habit, Discent, Ceremonies, and other Matters Concerning Them: Together with the Proceedings and Death of the Three Late Ambassadours: Sir D. C[otton] Sir R. S[herley] and the Persian Nogdi-Beg: As also the Two Great Monarchs, the King of Persia, and the Great Mogol, London: William Stansby for Iacob Bloome, OCLC 644078533; republished as William Foster, editor, Travels in Persia 1627–1629. Abridged and Edited by Sir William Foster [...] with an Introduction and Notes (Broadway Travellers), London: G. Routledge & Sons, 1928, OCLC 4900176, page 79:

     His turban, or mandil [mandīl], was of finest white silk interwoven with gold, bestudded with pearl[s] and carbuncles; […]

   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 155:

     A piece of marigold or bay leaf was imbedded in the metal, and over it a carbuncle or chrysolite was placed.

   1. (heraldry) A charge or bearing supposed to represent the precious stone, with eight sceptres or staves radiating from a common centre; an escarbuncle.
2. (pathology) An abscess larger than a boil, usually with one or more openings draining pus onto the skin. It is usually caused by staphylococcal infection.
3. An unpopular or ugly building; an eyesore.

Related terms

• carbon

Translations

precious stone

Bulgarian: гранат m (granat) Danish: karfunkel c Dutch: karbonkel (nl) m Erzya: мазыкев (mazykev) French: carboucle (fr) f Galician: carbúnculo m Georgian: ტოპაზი (ṭoṗazi) Old Georgian: ანთრაკი (antraḳi) German: Karfunkel (de) m Greek: Ancient: ἄνθραξ m (ánthrax) Hebrew: נֹפֶךְ‎ (he) m (nófech) Irish: carrmhogal m Latin: carbunculus m Malay: batu merah Manx: carbuncle m Maori: kapakara Middle English: carbuncle Norwegian: Bokmål: karfunkel (no) m Old French: carbuncle m Scottish Gaelic: càrrmhogal m Spanish: carbunclo (es) m, carbúnculo (es) m Welsh: carbwncl m

abscess

Bulgarian: цирей (bg) m (cirej) Chinese: Mandarin: 癰／痈 (zh) (yōng) Danish: brandbyld c, byld c Dutch: karbonkel (nl) m Finnish: ajospahka Galician: carbunco m, caruncho (gl) m German: Karbunkel (de) m Greek: ψευδάνθρακας (el) m (psevdánthrakas) Ancient: ἄνθραξ m (ánthrax) Irish: carrmhogal m, carbuncal m Japanese: 癰 (ja) (よう, yō) Kazakh: көршиқан (körşiqan) Latin: carbunculus m Malay: bisul Manx: pluccan mooar m Maori: tāpoa, maiao Mi'kmaq: glmuej anim Middle English: carbuncle Russian: карбункул (ru) m (karbunkul) Scottish Gaelic: neasgaid f Swedish: böld (sv) c Welsh: carbwncl m, cornwyd m

See also

• ruby

References

• “carbuncle”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “carbuncle”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• carboncle, carbuncul, charbocle, charbokel, charbouncle, charbucle, charbukel, charbuncle, charbunkel

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French carbuncle, charbuncle, itself borrowed from Latin carbunculus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkarbunkəl/, /ˈkarbukəl/, /ˈtʃ-/

Noun

carbuncle (plural carbuncles)

1. A carbuncle (garnet or other precious stone)
   • 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. The Tale of Sir Thopas: 179-81.

     His sheeld was al of gold so reed,

     And ther-inne was a bores heed,

     A charbocle bisyde;

2. Material similar to carbuncle.
3. (pathology) A carbuncle; a large abscess.

Descendants

• English: carbuncle

References

• “carbuncle, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Old French

Alternative forms

• charbuncle

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin carbunculus.

Noun

carbuncle m (oblique plural carbuncles, nominative singular carbuncles, nominative plural carbuncle)

1. carbuncle (deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark red precious stone)

Descendants

• → Middle English: carbuncle