Cinnabar

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cinnabar \Cin"na*bar\, n. [L. cinnabaris, Gr. ?; prob. of
     Oriental origin; cf. Per. qinb[=a]r, Hind. shangarf.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Min.) Red sulphide of mercury, occurring in brilliant red
        crystals, and also in red or brown amorphous masses. It is
        used in medicine.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The artificial red sulphide of mercury used as a pigment;
        vermilion.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Cinnabar Gr[ae]corum}. [L. Graecorum, gen. pl., of the
        Greeks.] (Med.) Same as {Dragon's blood}.
  
     {Green cinnabar}, a green pigment consisting of the oxides of
        cobalt and zinc subjected to the action of fire.
  
     {Hepatic cinnabar} (Min.), an impure cinnabar of a
        liver-brown color and submetallic luster.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cinnabar
       adj : of a vivid red to reddish-orange color [syn: {vermilion}, {vermillion},
              {Chinese-red}]
       n 1: a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the
            chief source of mercury
       2: large red-and-black European moth; larvae feed on leaves of
          ragwort; introduced into United States to control ragwort
          [syn: {cinnabar moth}, {Callimorpha jacobeae}]