Meanings
nounescarbuncle (plural escarbuncles)
plural escarbuncles
- archaicA carbuncle (gemstone).
To give light to the presence chamber were seven escarbuncles, great as pumpkins, hung in order down the length of it, and nine fair moonstones standing in order on silver pedestals between the pillars on the dais.
1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 3 - governmentA carbuncle (heraldic charge).
Origin
- Old Frenchescharboncle
- Englishescarbuncle
Old French escharboncle, see Modern French escaboucle.
More words from Old French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
escarbuncle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/escarbuncle
MLA
“escarbuncle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/escarbuncle. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “escarbuncle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/escarbuncle.
Source: escarbuncle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.