English
carnal
Carnal comes from Late Latin carnālis ‘fleshy’, from Proto-Italic *karō ‘meat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō‘meat’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō‘meat, flesh’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnālis‘fleshy’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400charnel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carnal
- Englishearliest quotation 1941carnal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō‘meat’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō‘meat, flesh’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnālis‘fleshy’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400charnel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carnal
- Englishearliest quotation 1941carnal
Earliest quotation: 1941, George Ryley Scott, London: T. Werner Laurie: “At the town of Mendes, in the principal temple,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
short, across, cross, share, screen, score, cancer, shirt, circle, circuit, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, scrutiny, shrine, crest, cancellation, scare, scorpion, shred, circa, raffle, corona, circulate, scar, corolla, shear, shrewd, incarceration, carnival, crux, cirque, riddance, circulatory, crepe, scorn, corgi, 115 more
through Proto-Italic *karō ‘meat’
through Latin carō ‘meat, flesh’
card, incarnation, carnivorous, carrion, incarnate, carnivore, 14 more
through Old French charnel
Today it means
adj Relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites or activities.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / carnal