Cinnabar
/ˈsɪn.ə.bɑːr/noun
A bright red mineral form of mercury sulfide, used historically as a pigment.
Did you know?Cinnabar’s name traveled through Greek and Latin from an older Eastern word for a red mineral, and the pigment was prized in antiquity even though the mineral itself is toxic.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
cinnabar
“A bright red mercury sulfide mineral and pigment.”
Middle English
English
cinnabar
“The red mineral used as a pigment.”
Late Latin
Latin
cinnabaris
“Red pigment or the mineral cinnabar.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kinnabari
“A red mineral or pigment, especially cinnabar.”
Earlier source
Uncertain
*kannabara / *kinnabari
“An older borrowed term for a red mineral, likely from an Eastern source.”