a secret political society with liberal republican aims, originating in S Italy about 1811 and particularly engaged in the struggle for Italian unification
Word origin
C19: from Italian, plural of carbonaro seller or burner of charcoal, name adopted by the society
Carbonari in American English
(ˌkɑrbɔˈnɑʀi)
Italian
plural nounWord forms: singular Italian ˌCarboˈnaro (ˈkɑrboˈnɑʀɔ)
an Italian revolutionary group organized about 1811 to unify Italy and found a republic
Word origin
It, pl. of carbonaro, charcoal burner (< L carbonarius < carbo: see carbon): said to be so named from meeting among the charcoal burners and using their jargon