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Webster 1828 Edition
Carboncle
CARBONCLE
,Noun.
1.
An anthrax; an inflammatory tumor, or painful gangrenous boil or ulcer.2.
A beautiful gem, of a deep red color, with a mixture of scarlet, called by the Greeks anthrax, found in the East Indies. It is foundpure, and adhering to a heavy ferruginous stone, of the emery kind. It is usually a quarter of an inch in length, and two-thirds of that in diameter, of an angular figure. When held up to the sun, it loses its deep tinge, and becomes exactly of the color of a burning coal.The carbuncle of the ancients is supposed to have been a garnet.
3.
In heraldry, a charge or bearing consisting of eight radii, four of which make a common cross, and the other four, a saltier.