Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » carbuncle
carbuncle
carbuncle definition
car·bun·cle (kär′buŋ′kəl)
noun
- Archaic any of certain deep-red gems
- a smooth, convex, deep-red garnet
- 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.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Share on Facebook