I was reminded of the word carbuncle and its dual meanings today while writing something, and remembered this blog, so I thought I'd come over and say hi. The Green Lion

Of stones the precious stone called carbuncle is least amenable to fire. Meteorology

The common employment of the designation carbuncle for a precious stone and also for a boil was usual from ancient times. Shakespeare and Precious Stones Treating of the Known References of Precious Stones in Shakespeare's Works, with Comments as to the Origin of His Material, the Knowledge of the Poet Concerning Precious Stones, and References as to Where the Precious Stones of His Time Came from

The negroes told us of a strange beast, which our interpreter called a carbuncle, which is said to be often seen, but only in the night. A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08

A carbuncle is a large boil or abscess – i guess what he called a boil would be what we would call a small boil. Banting’s Letter on Corpulence | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

The dictionary says a carbuncle is a kind of jewel. Following the Equator

The dictionary says a carbuncle is a kind of jewel. Following the Equator — Part 1

This also reminds us of the so-called carbuncle flies, the lancet of whose mouth parts, contaminated with the sanies of corpses, produces such terrible accidents. The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography

I had scarcely settled down comfortably in my rooms, the northerly aspect of which exposed them to frequent gusts of wind (from which I had practically no protection in the form of heating appliances), and had barely got over the demoralising effect of dysentery, when I fell a victim to a specific Venetian complaint, namely a carbuncle on my leg, as the result of the extreme change of climate and of air. My Life — Volume 2