cinnabar

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English

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Cinnabar mineral (1)

Etymology

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First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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cinnabar (countable and uncountable, plural cinnabars)

  1. A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion.
    Synonym: (obsolete) æthiops mineral
  2. A bright red colour tinted with orange.
    cinnabar:  
  3. (countable) A species of moth, Tyria jacobaeae, having red patches on its predominantly black wings.
    Synonym: cinnabar moth
    • 2015, Norman Maclean, A Less Green and Pleasant Land, page 223:
      There are a few day-flying exceptions such as hummingbird hawk-moths, silver Ys, cinnabars, scarlet tigers and burnets but, in general, knowledge of moths lags behind that of butterflies.
  4. (in “Cinnabar Panacea”) The Elixir of Life.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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cinnabar (comparative more cinnabar, superlative most cinnabar)

  1. Of a bright red colour tinted with orange.

Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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