carbuncle Hear it!

carbuncle definition

car·bun·cle (kär′buŋ′kəl)

noun

    1. Archaic any of certain deep-red gems
    2. a smooth, convex, deep-red garnet
  2. a painful bacterial infection (esp. Staphylococcus aureus) deep beneath the skin, having a network of pus-filled boils

Etymology: ME < OFr < L carbunculus, a little coal, gem < carbo: see carbon

Related Forms:

  • carbuncular car·bun′·cu·lar (-kyo̵̅o̅ lər) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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