Carbon Definition

kärbən

noun

A nonmetallic chemical element found in many inorganic compounds and all organic compounds: diamond and graphite are pure carbon; carbon is the basic element in coal, coke, charcoal, soot, etc.: symbol, C; at. no. 6: a radioactive isotope (carbon-14) is used as a tracer in chemical and biochemical research, and, because of its half-life of 5,730 years and its presence in all carbon-containing matter, it is a means of dating archaeological specimens, fossils, etc.

Webster's New World

A carbon-containing gas, notably carbon dioxide, or a collection of such gases, especially when considered as a contributor to the greenhouse effect.

Plans for capturing and sequestering carbon produced by power plants.

American Heritage Medicine

A sheet of carbon paper.

Webster's New World

Carbon copy.

Webster's New World

A stick of carbon used in an arc lamp.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

adjective

Of, like, or treated with carbon.

Webster's New World

Origin of Carbon

From French carbone, coined by Lavoisier, from Latin carbō (“charcoal, coal”), from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“to burn”), see also Old English heorþ (“hearth”), Old Norse hyrr (“fire”), Gothic (hauri, “coal”), Old High German harsta (“roasting”), Russian церен (ceren, “brazier”), Old Church Slavonic крада (krada, “hearth, fireplace”), Lithuanian kuriu (“to heat”), karstas (“hot”) and krosnis (“oven”), Sanskrit कृष्ण (kṛṣṇa, “burnt, black”) and कूडयति (kūḍayati, “singes”), Latin cremare (“to burn”).

From Wiktionary
French carbone from Latin carbō carbōn- a coal, charcoal ker-³ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition