cabochon

C3A1B3O1C3H4O1N1
/ˌkæbəˈʃɒn/

noun

A precious stone which has only been polished, not cut into facets.

OriginFrench cabochon ← Old French caboce ← Latin caput →
Less commonScrabble 17
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Meanings

nouncabochon (plural cabochons)

plural cabochons

  1. attributiveA precious stone which has only been polished, not cut into facets.

    Thecla was […] stroking a bracelet formed like a kraken, a kraken whose tentacles wrapped the white flesh of her arm; its eyes were cabochon emeralds.

    1980, Gene Wolfe, chapter VIII, in The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun; 1), New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 81

Origin

  1. Latincaput“head”
  2. Old Frenchcaboce
  3. Frenchcabochon
  4. Englishcabochon

Borrowed from French cabochon, diminutive form of caboche (“head”), from Old French caboce, from Latin caput (“head”).

More words from French, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Cabochon
  • Cabochonpolished stone
Russian кабошо́н
  • кабошо́н (kabošón)polished stone
Cite this entry
APA

cabochon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabochon

MLA

“cabochon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabochon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cabochon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabochon.

Source: cabochon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.