Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “carnage” come from?

carnage (Middle French) comes 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 (Middle French): a piece of meat used as bait

Definitions

  1. a piece of meat used as bait

Ancestry of “carnage”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcharnageflesh; meat; a meat-based course of a meal
2Old Frenchcharflesh; meat; cart
3Latincarrusa wagon, a four-wheeled baggage cart; a cartload,...
4Gaulishkarroswagon
5Proto-Celtickarroswagon
6Proto-Indo-Europeanḱr̥sósvehicle
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱers-to run

Words derived from “carnage”

  • carnage
  • carnage
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱers- →