Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - carbon

 noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: French ~e, from Latin ~-, carbo ember, charcoal  Date: 1789  1. a nonmetallic chiefly tetravalent element found native (as in diamond and graphite) or as a constituent of coal, petroleum, and asphalt, of limestone and other ~ates, and of organic compounds or obtained artificially in varying degrees of purity especially as ~ black, lampblack, activated ~, charcoal, and coke — see element table  2. a ~ rod used in an arc lamp  3.  a. a sheet of ~ paper  b. ~ copy