Carbuncle
//ˈkɑː.bʌŋ.kl̩// noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark red precious stone, especially when cut cabochon. archaic
"With eyes like carbuncles, the hellish Pyrrhus […]"
- 2 an infection larger than a boil and with several openings for discharge of pus wordnet
- 3 A charge or bearing supposed to represent the precious stone, with eight sceptres or staves radiating from a common centre; an escarbuncle.
- 4 deep-red cabochon garnet cut without facets wordnet
- 5 An abscess larger than a boil, usually with one or more openings draining pus onto the skin. It is usually caused by staphylococcal infection.
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- 6 An unpopular or ugly building; an eyesore.
Example
More examples"The sapphire, azure gem that emulates heaven's loftly arch, shall gleam, and softly there the verdant emerald shed its greenest light, and fiery carbuncle flash forth its rosy rays from the pure gold."
Etymology
From Middle English carbuncle, charbocle, from Old French carbuncle, charbuncle, from Latin carbunculus (“a small coal; a reddish kind of precious stone; a kind of tumor”), diminutive of carbō (“a coal, charcoal”). Doublet of Garfinkel and Garfunkel.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.