Advertisement

Advertisement

cinnabar

[ sin-uh-bahr ]

noun

  1. a mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS, occurring in red crystals or masses: the principal ore of mercury.
  2. red mercuric sulfide, used as a pigment.
  3. bright red; vermillion.


cinnabar

/ ˈsɪnəˌbɑː /

noun

  1. a bright red or brownish-red mineral form of mercuric sulphide (mercury(II) sulphide), found close to areas of volcanic activity and hot springs. It is the main commercial source of mercury. Formula: HgS. Crystal structure: hexagonal
  2. the red form of mercuric sulphide (mercury(II) sulphide), esp when used as a pigment
  3. a bright red to reddish-orange; vermilion
  4. a large red-and-black European moth, Callimorpha jacobaeae: family Arctiidae (tiger moths, etc)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Discover More

Other Words From

  • cin·na·bar·ine [sin, -, uh, -b, uh, -reen, -ber-in, -bahr-ahyn, -een], cin·na·bar·ic [sin-, uh, -, bar, -ik], adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinnabar1

1350–1400; < Latin cinnabaris < Greek kinnábari < ?; replacing Middle English cynoper < Medieval Latin, Latin as above
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinnabar1

C15: from Old French cenobre, from Latin cinnābaris, from Greek kinnabari, of Oriental origin
Discover More

Example Sentences

Those ancient people, then, may have encountered cinnabar in their life.

What they do know, however, is that the Copper Age’s elaborate mass burials gave way to simpler, smaller tombs, and that cinnabar faded away.

If you breathe cinnabar powder in, or if it makes skin contact—perhaps, by wearing vermillion-dyed clothes—it will enter your bloodstream.

Cinnabar, when ground very fine, will make a beautiful red paint.

It forms part of a soft, red rock called cinnabar, composed of mercury and sulphur.

Them men as works in cinnabar sooner or later gets salviated.

Then we had the cinnabar mines—you may see them along the slope to northward, right over the west end of the town.

Cinnabar 278 was occupied on the 21st in the morning, and a heavy contribution raised.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Cinnacinnamene