charcoal

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air
  2. noun a stick of black carbon material used for drawing
  3. noun a very dark grey color

Etymology

From Middle English charcole, from charren (“to change, turn”) + cole (“coal”), from Old English cierran (“to change, turn”) + col (“coal”); equivalent to char (Etymology 3 (verb)) + coal.

In classic literature

Synonyms

wood coal

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading