cinnabar
pronunciation
How to pronounce cinnabar in British English:
UK [ˈsɪnəbɑ:(r)]
How to pronounce cinnabar in American English:
US [ˈsɪnəˌbɑr]
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- Noun:
- a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the chief source of mercury
- large red-and-black European moth; larvae feed on leaves of ragwort; introduced into United States to control ragwort
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- Adjective:
- of a vivid red to reddish-orange color
Word Origin
- cinnabar (n.)
- mid-15c., "red or crystalline form of mercuric sulphide," also applied to other ores of mercury, originally with reference to its use as a pigment; from Old French cinabre (13c.), from Late Latin cinnabaris, from Greek kinnabari, of oriental origin (compare Persian zanjifrah in the same sense). Also used 14c.-17c. of red resinous juice of a certain Eastern tree, which was believed to be a mixture of dragon's and elephant's blood.
Example
- 1. The pigments used come from non-transparent minerals and plants such as malachite and cinnabar .
- 2. Miners hewed chunks of rock veined with cinnabar , the main commercial source of mercury .
- 3. Cinnabar phoenix renowned the world , also known as cinnabar , cinnabar .
- 4. Effects of cinnabar and realgar on lactate dehydrogenase and isoenzymes in rats with infectious cerebral injury .
- 5. Clinical effects of seven-gem cinnabar on promoting intestinal tract function recovery after cesarean section .