carbuncle
/ˈkɑɹˌbʌŋ.kl̩/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.20 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark red precious stone, especially when cut cabochon.
Archaic
noun
A charge or bearing supposed to represent the precious stone, with eight sceptres or staves radiating from a common centre; an escarbuncle.
Example Sentences
- "With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus […]"
- "And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones."
- "His turban, or mandil [mandīl], was of finest white silk interwoven with gold, bestudded with pearl[s] and carbuncles; […]"
- "These are usually represented as short and stumpy with shaggy hair, dark wrinkled faces, little deep-set eyes, but bright as carbuncles."
- "A piece of marigold or bay leaf was imbedded in the metal, and over it a carbuncle or chrysolite was placed."
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”). Doublet of Garfinkel and Garfunkel.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: carbuncle, carbunculus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɑɹˌbʌŋ.kl̩/
- British English: /ˈkɑː.bʌŋ.kl̩/