English
carry
Carry comes from Middle English carien, from Anglo-Norman carier, from a derivative of Latin carrus ‘baggage wagon’, of Gaulish origin.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarrus‘four-wheeled baggage wagon’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400carier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carien‘to transport’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596-1599carry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarrus‘four-wheeled baggage wagon’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400carier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carien‘to transport’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596-1599carry
Earliest quotation: c. 1596-1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV: “Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- ‘to run’
course, current, rush, occur, currency, curriculum, courier, corridor, hurry, precursor, incur, concur, cursor, recursive, corsair, carousel, hurrah, recursion, recur, courant, succour, hussar, 41 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós ‘vehicle, literally runner’
through Gaulish *karros ‘wagon’
through Latin carrus ‘four-wheeled baggage wagon’
charge, car, career, cargo, carriage, chariot, caricature, carrack, 12 more
through Middle English carien ‘to transport’
Today it means
verb To lift (something) and take it to another place; to transport (something) by lifting.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin carrus / carry