English
carnival
Carnival comes from Latin carnem levāre ‘to take away/remove meat’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnem levāre‘to take away/remove meat’
- Italianc. 1300–presentcarnevale
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600carnaval
- Englishearliest quotation 1870carnival
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to cut off, sever’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnem levāre‘to take away/remove meat’
- Italianc. 1300–presentcarnevale
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600carnaval
- Englishearliest quotation 1870carnival
Earliest quotation: 1870, Life in the Mexican Capital: “The spot is a marvel of beauty and taste;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
short, across, cross, share, screen, score, cancer, shirt, card, circle, circuit, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, scrutiny, shrine, crest, scare, cancellation, corona, scorpion, circa, shred, scar, raffle, shear, circulate, corolla, shrewd, incarceration, crux, cirque, scorn, riddance, circulatory, crepe, carcinoma, 119 more
through Italian carnevale
Today it means
noun Any of a number of festivals held just before the beginning of Lent.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / carnival