carbuncle

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkɑrˌbʌŋkəl/ UK /ˈkɑːˌbʌŋkəl/ See IPA manual

noun

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;... boilabscesssore garnet ruby

Word family

Derived forms carbuncular

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.

carbunculus Latin carbō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

# 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

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carbuncle

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