Where does “carbuncle” come from?
Carbuncle comes from Old Northern French carbuncle, a word of uncertain ultimate origin.
carbuncle (English): A deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark...
Definitions
- A deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark...
Ancestry of “carbuncle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | carbuncle | A carbuncle garnet or other precious stone |
| 2 | Old French | carbuncle | carbuncle (deep-red or fiery colored garnet or other dark red precious stone) |
| 3 | Latin | carbunculus | carbuncle |
| 4 | Latin | carbō | charcoal, coal |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |