English
carnivore
Carnivore comes from French carnivore ‘carnivorous’, from Latin carō ‘meat, flesh’, 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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnivorus‘feeding on flesh, carnivorous, meat-eating’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcarnivore‘carnivorous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1990same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnivorus‘feeding on flesh, carnivorous, meat-eating’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcarnivore‘carnivorous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1990same form
Earliest quotation: 1990, Morrissey, Ouija Board, Ouija Board: “Well, she has now gone / From this unhappy…”
The story
In the zoological sense, coined by William Whewell in 1840 as an adaptation of Cuvier's coinage, French carnivore.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
across, short, cross, share, cancer, screen, shirt, circle, circuit, score, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, scrutiny, shrine, cancellation, scare, crest, circa, scar, corona, scorpion, shear, raffle, circulate, incarceration, shred, crux, corolla, cirque, shrewd, riddance, carcinoma, shard, ruck, circulatory, chancel, 114 more
through Latin carō ‘meat, flesh’
card, incarnation, carnage, incarnate, carnal, carrion, carnation, 13 more
Today it means
noun An organism that feeds chiefly on animals; an animal that feeds on meat as the main part of its diet.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / carnivore