Where does “carnage” come from?
carnage (French) comes from Middle French carnage, from Old French charnage, from Old French char, from Latin carrus, from Gaulish karros, from Proto-Celtic karros, from Proto-Indo-European ḱr̥sós, from Proto-Indo-European ḱers- — to run.
carnage (French): carnage
Ancestry of “carnage”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | carnage | a piece of meat used as bait |
| 2 | Old French | charnage | flesh; meat; a meat-based course of a meal |
| 3 | Old French | char | flesh; meat; cart |
| 4 | Latin | carrus | a wagon, a four-wheeled baggage cart; a cartload,... |
| 5 | Gaulish | karros | wagon |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | karros | wagon |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱr̥sós | vehicle |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱers- | to run |