carbuncle C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary US /ˈkɑrˌbʌŋkəl/ UK /ˈkɑːˌbʌŋkəl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a painful cluster of boils; a red gem, especially a garnet A painful carbuncle had formed on the back of his neck. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a painful cluster of boils;... boilabscesssoregarnetruby Word family Derived forms carbuncular Etymology AI details From Old French carboncle, from Latin carbunculus ('small coal, a red gem'), a diminutive of carbō ('coal'), so named for the glowing-coal color of the gem. carbunculus Latin carbō Latin View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # carbuncle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkɑrˌbʌŋkəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkɑːˌbʌŋkəl/ ## Meanings 1. a painful cluster of boils; a red gem, especially a garnet ## Examples - A painful carbuncle had formed on the back of his neck. ## Synonyms - boil - abscess - sore - garnet - ruby ## Derived Forms - carbuncular ## Roots and Affixes - Root: carbunculus - Root: carbō ## Etymology From Old French carboncle, from Latin carbunculus ('small coal, a red gem'), a diminutive of carbō ('coal'), so named for the glowing-coal color of the gem. ## AI Etymology Carbuncle comes from Old French carboncle, from Latin carbunculus ('small coal, a red gem'), a diminutive of carbō ('coal'), so named for the glowing-coal color of the gem. The historical trail runs through carbunculus in Latin and carbō in Latin. Used as a noun, carbuncle now means "a painful cluster of boils; a red gem, especially a garnet", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as carbuncular. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown