means charcoal-burners, a name assumed by a secret
political society in Italy (organised 1808-1814). Their place of
muster they called a “hut;” its inside, “the place for selling
charcoal;” and the outside, the “forest.” Their political opponents
they called “wolves.” Their object was to convert the kingdom of Naples
into a republic. In the singular number, Carbonaro. (See
Charbonnerie.)
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
