Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Kermes \Ker"mes\, n. [Ar. & Per. girmiz. See {Crimson}, and cf.
   {Alkermes}.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) The dried bodies of the females of a scale
      insect ({Coccus ilicis}), allied to the cochineal insect,
      and found on several species of oak near the
      Mediterranean. They are round, about the size of a pea,
      contain coloring matter analogous to carmine, and are used
      in dyeing. They were anciently thought to be of a
      vegetable nature, and were used in medicine. [Written also
      {chermes}.]

   2. (Bot.) A small European evergreen oak ({Quercus
      coccifera}) on which the kermes insect ({Coccus ilicis})
      feeds. --J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).

   {Kermes mineral}.
      (a) (Old Chem.) An artificial amorphous trisulphide of
          antimony; -- so called on account of its red color.
      (b) (Med. Chem.) A compound of the trioxide and
          trisulphide of antimony, used in medicine. This
          substance occurs in nature as the mineral kermesite.

Cochineal \Coch"i*neal\ (?; 277), [Sp. cochinilla, dim. from L.
   coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr. coccum the kermes berry, G.
   ? berry, especially the kermes insect, used to dye scarlet,
   as the cohineal was formerly supposed to be the grain or seed
   of a plant, and this word was formerly defined to be the
   grain of the {Quercus coccifera}; but cf. also Sp. cochinilla
   wood louse, dim. of cochina sow, akin to F. cochon pig.]
   A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the
   {Coccus cacti}, an insect native in Mexico, Central America,
   etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. {Opuntia
   cochinellifera}.

   Note: These insects are gathered from the plant, killed by
         the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry.
         When dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds,
         of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of
         the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also
         as a red dye.

   Note: Cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter
         carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which
         yields carmine red.