I. ˈsində(r) noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English cinder, alteration (influenced by Middle French cendre ash) of sinder, from Old English; akin to Old High German sintar dross, slag, Old Norse sindr, Old Slavic sędra stalactite
1.
a. : the slag from a metal furnace : dross , scoria
b. : a scale thrown off in forging metal
2. cinders plural
a. : ashes : the incombustible residue of something burnt ; especially : small fragments of clinker left by burning soft coal
b. obsolete : the residue of a human body following cremation or decomposition
3.
a. : a partly burned combustible in which fire is extinct or which no longer gives off flame — often distinguished from ash and ashes
b. : a hot coal without flame : ember
c. : a piece of partly burned coal capable of further burning without flame
4. : one of the small commonly vesicular fragments of lava that are projected from an erupting volcano, are about 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and are coarser than volcanic ash and smaller than volcanic bombs — compare lapillus , scoria
5. or cinder gray : a purplish gray that is redder and lighter than crane, slightly less strong than dove gray, lighter than granite, and redder than zinc — called also crystal gray, silverwing
6. cinders plural : a cinder running track : an outdoor track
faster in indoor races than on cinders
II. transitive verb
( cindered ; cindered ; cindering -d(ə)riŋ ; cinders )
Etymology: Middle English scindern, from cinder, sinder, n.
1. archaic : to burn or reduce to cinders
2. : to sprinkle with cinders