charcoal
pronunciation
How to pronounce charcoal in British English:
UK [ˈtʃɑ:kəʊl]
How to pronounce charcoal in American English:
US [ˈtʃɑrkoʊl]
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- Noun:
- a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air
- a stick of black carbon material used for drawing
- a very dark gray color
- a drawing made with charcoal
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- Verb:
- draw, trace, or represent with charcoal
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- Adjective:
- very dark gray
Word Origin
- charcoal
- charcoal: [14] The words char and charcoal are related, but not in the way commonsense might lead one to suppose: for the verb char [17], originally apparently a charcoal-burner’s term, appears to derive from charcoal. So etymologically, the element char has nothing to do with ‘burning’. There are two main suggestions as to charcoal’s origins: firstly that it comes from Old French charbon ‘charcoal’ (related to English carbon); and secondly that it represents the now obsolete English verb chare (see CHARWOMAN), which in Old English times (cerran) meant ‘turn’.On the basis of this theory, the etymological meaning of the word would be ‘turning into charcoal’ (for in Old English, coal meant ‘charcoal’ as well as ‘coal’).
- charcoal (n.)
- mid-14c., charcole, first element is either Old French charbon "charcoal," or, on the current theory, obsolete charren "to turn" (from Old English cerran) + cole "coal," thus, "to turn to coal."
Example
- 1. Each yields its own type of charcoal with different nutrients .
- 2. Eyeshadows were made with olive oil mixed with ground charcoal .
- 3. Some of those rings are in wood that has been preserved as charcoal .
- 4. Charcoal maker : slowly combusting biomass in a low-oxygen environment yields nutrient-rich charcoal .
- 5. Villagers are venturing deeper into the forest to cut down trees for cooking charcoal .