Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A heavy reddish mercuric sulfide, HgS, that is the principal ore of mercury.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Red Sulphid of mercury.
- noun A red resinous juice obtained from an East Indian tree, Calamus Draco, formerly used as an astringent; dragon's-blood.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) Red sulphide of mercury, occurring in brilliant red crystals, and also in red or brown amorphous masses. It is used in medicine.
- noun The artificial red sulphide of mercury used as a pigment; vermilion.
- noun (Med.) Same as
Dragon's blood . - noun a green pigment consisting of the oxides of cobalt and zinc subjected to the action of fire.
- noun (Min.) an impure cinnabar of a liver-brown color and submetallic luster.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A deep
red mineral ,mercuric sulfide , HgS; the principalore ofmercury ; such ore used as thepigment vermilion . - noun A bright red colour tinted with orange.
- adjective Of a bright red colour tinted with orange.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the chief source of mercury
- noun large red-and-black European moth; larvae feed on leaves of ragwort; introduced into United States to control ragwort
- adjective of a vivid red to reddish-orange color
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Her arms and legs wound around the trunk, her incandescent forehead pressed against the ancient idol, this offshoot of Roman Priapus that had escaped being daubed in cinnabar by womenfolk.
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Her arms and legs wound around the trunk, her incandescent forehead pressed against the ancient idol, this offshoot of Roman Priapus that had escaped being daubed in cinnabar by womenfolk.
A Different Stripe: 2008
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Most inorganic mercury compounds are white powders or crystals, except for mercuric sulfide (also known as cinnabar) which is red and turns black after exposure to light.
Mercury 2008
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These more naturalistic masks, particularly from around what is now the state of Vera Cruz, show that the profiles of deities were carved and outlined in cinnabar.
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These more naturalistic masks, particularly from around what is now the state of Vera Cruz, show that the profiles of deities were carved and outlined in cinnabar.
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Most inorganic mercury compounds are white powders or crystals, except for mercuric sulfide (also known as cinnabar) which is red and turns black after exposure to light.
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It forms part of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur.
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~ Mercury occurs in nature chiefly as the sulphide (HgS) called cinnabar, and in globules of metal inclosed in the cinnabar.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry William McPherson
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I picked it up and found it to be a scrap of yellow paper with words elegantly written on it in cinnabar.
Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan b. 974? Murasaki Shikibu Izumi Shikibu 1920
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The ore known as cinnabar is of a dark-red colour, and gives a beautiful appearance to the galleries.
The Mines and its Wonders William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
brtom commented on the word cinnabar
"The floor is covered with an oilcloth mosaic of jade and azure and cinnabar rhomboids." Joyce, Ulysses, 15
January 1, 2008
fbharjo commented on the word cinnabar
from Persian zanjifrah
August 30, 2009
voxel-ux commented on the word cinnabar
The sound of this word is so evocative, so exotic.
October 13, 2014
chained_bear commented on the word cinnabar
Usage note in comment on mercuric sulfide.
October 4, 2017