cinnabar

noun

cin·na·bar ˈsi-nə-ˌbär

: artificial red mercuric sulfide used especially as a pigment

: a red mineral consisting of native mercuric sulfide HgS that is the only important ore of mercury

: a deep vivid red

cinnabarine

ˈsi-nə-bə-ˌrīn

-ˌbär-in

adjective

Examples of cinnabar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The earliest work rendered into color is a Cycladic figure, with an oversize head connected to an abstracted body, now with a small triangle of cinnabar to create a rictus of red lips, dots on the cheeks and arching eyebrows. —

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2022 Coastal Peru’s arid climate and salty soil helped preserve the bodies, retaining details that show some children had their faces painted with red cinnabar; others wore cotton headdresses. —

Megan Schmidt, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2020 Remains unearthed at the site include conch shell trumpets from Ecuador, cinnabar (a bright red pigment) from south-central Peru and obsidian from Ayacucho in southern Peru. —

Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2021 Which means for decoration, the ancient Maya used mercury-containing powder and cinnabar for patios, floor areas, walls and ceramics. —

Erin Berge, Discover Magazine, 23 Sep. 2022 This town, once 2,000 inhabitants strong and rich with cinnabar from which miners extracted mercury in the late 19th century, now stands by its claim as one of the most popular ghost towns in Texas, with 110 residents. —

Stephanie Pearson, Outside Online, 2 Nov. 2022 The team concluded that the Maya used cinnabar, a bright red mineral containing mercury, for decorative paints and powders that served ceremonial and religious purposes. —

Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Sep. 2022 During the period studied, cinnabar was used to decorate megalithic chambers, figurines and the bodies of the dead. —

David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Nov. 2021 Some scholars posit that people intentionally ingested cinnabar as a drug during religious ceremonies, but this hypothesis remains unproven. —

David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Nov. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cinnabar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cynabare, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French sinopre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Greek kinnabari, of non-Indo-European origin; akin to Arabic zinjafr cinnabar

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of cinnabar was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century