From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcarbunclecar‧bun‧cle /ˈkɑːbʌŋkəl $ ˈkɑːr-/ noun [countable] 1 MIa large painful lump under someone’s skin2 DCJa red jewel, especially a garnet
Examples from the Corpus
carbuncle• Yet they were covered in carbuncles and boils.• Karl Marx said that the bourgeoisie would suffer from the carbuncles that afflicted his buttocks as he composed Das Kapital.• This can be seen in the liquified, dead centre of the carbuncle.• A heap of bones, a wrecked carbuncle.Origin carbuncle (1200-1300) Old French Latin carbunculus “small piece of burning coal”, from carbo; → CARBON 