n. [ L. carbunculus a little coal, a bright kind of precious stone, a kind of tumor, dim. of carbo coal: cf. F. carboncle. See Carbon. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Min.) A beautiful gem of a deep red color (with a mixture of scarlet) called by the Greeks anthrax; found in the East Indies. When held up to the sun, it loses its deep tinge, and becomes of the color of burning coal. The name belongs for the most part to ruby sapphire, though it has been also given to red spinel and garnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) A very painful acute local inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue, esp. of the trunk or back of the neck, characterized by brawny hardness of the affected parts, sloughing of the skin and deeper tissues, and marked constitutional depression. It differs from a boil in size, tendency to spread, and the absence of a central core, and is frequently fatal. It is also called anthrax. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) A charge or bearing supposed to represent the precious stone. It has eight scepters or staves radiating from a common center. Called also escarbuncle. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ L. caruncula a little piece of flesh, dim. of caro flesh. ] 1. (Anat.) A small fleshy prominence or excrescence; especially the small, reddish body, the
caruncula lacrymalis, in the inner angle of the eye. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) An excrescence or appendage surrounding or near the hilum of a seed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) A naked, flesh appendage, on the head of a bird, as the wattles of a turkey, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. escarbuncle, F. escaboucle. ] (Her.) See Carbuncle, 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. furunculus a petty thief, a boil, dim. of fur thief: cf. F. furoncle. ] (Med.) A superficial, inflammatory tumor, suppurating with a central core; a boil. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. grand-oncle. ] A father's or mother's uncle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an uncle of one's father or mother.
Syn. -- granduncle. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Formed fr. (assumed) L. pedunculus, dim. of pes, pedis, a foot: cf. F. pédoncule. ] 1. (Bot.) The stem or stalk that supports the flower or fruit of a plant, or a cluster of flowers or fruits. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The ultimate divisions or branches of a peduncle are called pedicels. In the case of a solitary flower, the stalk would be called a peduncle if the flower is large, and a pedicel if it is small or delicate. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A sort of stem by which certain shells and barnacles are attached to other objects. See Illust. of Barnacle. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Anat.) A band of nervous or fibrous matter connecting different parts of the brain; as, the peduncles of the cerebellum; the peduncles of the pineal gland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little or petty sect. [ R. ] “Some new sect or sectiuncle.” J. Martineau. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. siphunculus, sipunculus, dim. of sipho. See Siphon. ] (Zool.) The tube which runs through the partitions of chambered cephalopod shells. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. uncle, OF. oncle, uncle, F. oncle, fr. L. avunculus a maternal uncle, dim. of avus a grandfather; akin to Lith. avynas uncle, Goth. aw&unr_; grandmother, Icel. āi great grandfather. ] 1. The brother of one's father or mother; also applied to an aunt's husband; -- the correlative of aunt in sex, and of nephew and niece in relationship. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A pawnbroker. [ Slang ] Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An eldery man; -- used chiefly as a kindly or familiar appellation, esp. (Southern U. S.) for a worthy old negro; as, “Uncle Remus.” [ Colloq. ]

Plain old uncle as he [ Socrates ] was, with his great ears, -- an immense talker. Emerson. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

My uncle, a pawnbroker. [ Slang ] --
Uncle Sam, a humorous appellation given to the United States Government. See Uncle Sam, in Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Dim. of vibration. ] A small vibration. [ R. ] Chambers. [ 1913 Webster ]