carnival

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A public festival with music, parades, dancing, and people in costumes.

   Thousands of people danced in the streets during the carnival.

2. 2
   noun

   A travelling amusement park with rides, games, and shows.

   We all rode the merry-go-round when the carnival came to town.

Simplified etymology

Carnival comes from medieval Latin carnelevamen, “Shrovetide,” formed from caro or carn-, “flesh,” and levare, “to put away.” It originally denoted the festive period before the meat-free fasting of Lent. The popular derivation from carne vale, “farewell, meat,” is mistaken.

From Middle French carnaval, from Italian carnevale, possibly from the Latin phrase carnem levāmen (“meat dismissal”). Other scholars suggest Latin carnuālia (“meat-based country feast”) or carrus nāvālis (“boat wagon; float”) instead. Doublet of carnaval.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary