c | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

4697 entries found.

c. 1600, "vehicle for carrying," from carry (v.). From 1880 as "the act or an act of carrying." U.S. football sense "an instance of carrying the ball" is attested by 1949.

carry (v.)

early 14c., "to bear or convey, take along or transport," from Anglo-French carier "to transport in a vehicle" or Old North French carrier "to cart, carry" (Modern French charrier), from Gallo-Roman *carrizare, from Late Latin carricare, from Latin carrum originally "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot," from Gaulish (Celtic) karros, from PIE *krsos, from root *kers- "to run."

Meaning "take by force, gain by effort" is from 1580s. Sense of "gain victory, bear to a successful conclusion" is from 1610s; specifically in reference to elections from 1848, American English. Meaning "to conduct, manage" (often with an indefinite it) is from 1580s. Meaning "bear up and support" is from 1560s. Commercial sense of "keep in stock" is from 1848. In reference to mathematical operations from 1798. Of sound, "to be heard at a distance" by 1858.

To carry out "conduct to completion" is from c. 1600. To carry it off "brazen a thing out" is from 1704; carried off as a euphemism for "killed" is from 1670s. To be carried (away) in the figurative sense "transported, having the attention fully absorbed" is from 1560s. Carrying capacity is attested from 1836. Carry-castle (1590s) was an old descriptive term for an elephant.

carry on (v.)

1640s, "continue to advance," also "manage, be engaged in," from carry (v.) + on (adv.). Meaning "conduct oneself in a wild and thoughtless manner" is by 1828. Carryings-on is from 1660s as "questionable doings," from 1866 as "riotous behavior." As an adjective, carry-on, in reference to luggage that may be brought into the passenger compartment of an airliner, by 1965.

carry-all (n.)

also carryall, 1714 as a type of light, four-wheeled family carriage; in the baggage sense from 1884; from carry (v.) + all (n.).

carry-out (adj.)

of food and drink, "prepared to be consumed away from the place of sale," 1935, American English, from the verbal phrase, from carry (v.) + out (adv.). Compare takeaway, takeout, which have the same sense.

car-sick (adj.)

also carsick, "dizzy and nauseated from the motion of an automobile," 1908, from car (n.) + sick (adj.). Earlier it was used in the sense of "sick from the motion of a railroad car." Related: Car-sickness.

cart (v.)

"to carry in a cart," late 14c., from cart (n.). Related: Carted; carting.

cart (n.)

c. 1200, "two-wheeled vehicle," usually for one horse and often without springs, from Old Norse kartr or a similar Scandinavian source, akin to and replacing Old English cræt "cart, wagon, chariot," perhaps originally "body of a cart made of wickerwork, hamper" and related to Middle Dutch cratte "woven mat, hamper," Dutch krat "basket," Old English cradol (see cradle (n.)).

Many old allusions are from the cart being used to convey offenders to the gallows (and sometimes serving as a drop for hangings) or for public exposure, especially of lewd women, either in the cart or tied to its tail. Compare tumbrel. To put the cart before the horse in a figurative sense "reverse the natural or proper order of things" is from 1510s in those words; the image in other words dates to mid-14c.: put the plow (sull) before the oxen.

cartage (n.)

c. 1300, "act of carrying in a cart," also "price paid for carting," from cart + -age.

carte blanche (n.)

1707, "paper duly authenticated by a signature and otherwise blank, left to someone to be filled in at his discretion," French, literally "white paper," from carte (see card (n.1)) + blanche, from Old French blanc "white," a word of Germanic origin (see blank (adj.)). Figurative sense of "full discretionary power, unrestricted permission or authority in some manner" is from 1766. Compare blank check, used in the same figurative sense.

Page 65

Trending words