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Origin and history of carnival

carnival(n.)

1540s, "time of merrymaking before Lent," from French carnaval, from Italian carnevale "Shrove Tuesday," from older Italian forms such as Milanese *carnelevale, Old Pisan carnelevare "to remove meat," literally "raising flesh," from Latin caro "flesh" (originally "a piece of flesh," from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut") + levare "lighten, raise, remove" (from PIE root *legwh- "not heavy, having little weight").

Folk etymology has it from Medieval Latin carne vale " 'flesh, farewell!' " Attested from 1590s in the figurative sense of "feasting or revelry in general." The meaning "a circus or amusement fair" is attested by 1926 in American English.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to carnival

carny(n.)

1931, U.S. slang, short for carnival worker (see carnival).

*legwh-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "not heavy, having little weight."

It might form all or part of: alleviate; alleviation; alto-rilievo; carnival; elevate; elevation; elevator; leaven; legerdemain; leprechaun; Levant; levator; levee; lever; levity; levy (v.) "to raise or collect;" light (adj.1) "not heavy, having little weight;" lighter (n.1) "type of barge used in unloading;" lung; relevance; relevant; releve; relief; relieve.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit laghuh "quick, small;" Greek elakhys "small," elaphros "light;" Latin levare "to raise," levis "light in weight, not heavy;" Old Church Slavonic liguku, Russian lëgkij, Polish lekki, Lithuanian lengvas "light in weight;" Old Irish lu "small," laigiu "smaller, worse;" Gothic leihts, Old English leoht "not heavy, light in weight."

*sker-(1)

also *ker-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut."

It might form all or part of: bias; carnage; carnal; carnation; carnival; carnivorous; carrion; cenacle; charcuterie; charnel; corium; cortex; crone; cuirass; currier; curt; decorticate; excoriate; incarnadine; incarnate; incarnation; kirtle; scabbard; scar (n.2) "bare and broken rocky face of a cliff or mountain;" scaramouche; scarf (n.2) "connecting joint;" scarp; score; scrabble; scrap (n.1) "small piece;" scrape; screen; screw; scrimmage; scrofula; scrub (n.1) "low, stunted tree;" scurf; shard; share (n.1) "portion;" share (n.2) "iron blade of a plow;" sharp; shear; shears; sheer (adj.) "absolute, utter;" shirt; shore (n.) "land bordering a large body of water;" short; shrub; skerry; skirmish; skirt.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit krnati "hurts, wounds, kills," krntati "cuts;" Hittite karsh- "to cut off;" Greek keirein "to cut, shear;" Latin curtus "short," caro (genitive carnis) "flesh" (originally "piece of flesh"); Lithuanian skiriu, skirti "to separate;" Old English sceran, scieran "to cleave, hew, cut with a sharp instrument;" Old Irish scaraim "I separate;" Welsh ysgar "to separate," ysgyr "fragment."

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    More to explore

    fair
    Old English fæger "pleasing to the sight (of persons and body features, also of objects, places, etc.); beautiful, handsome, attractive," of weather, "bright, clear, pleasant; not rainy," also in late Old English "morally good," from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (source also of Old Sax
    circus
    late 14c., in reference to the large, oblong, unroofed enclosures used for races, etc., in ancient Rome, from Latin circus "ring, circular line," which was applied by Romans to circular arenas for performances and contests and oval courses for racing (especially the Circus Maximu
    geek
    "sideshow freak," 1916, U.S. carnival and circus slang, perhaps a variant of geck "a fool, dupe, simpleton" (1510s), apparently...Lewis, "Carnival," 1970] By c. 1983, used in teenager slang in reference to peers who lacked social graces but were obsessed...
    confetti
    1815, "small pellets made of lime or soft plaster, used in Italy during carnival by the revelers for pelting one another...The chief amusement of the Carnival consists in throwing the confetti—a very ancient practice, and which, with a little research...
    rinky-dink
    "trivial, old-fashioned, worthless," 1913 (from 1912 as a noun, "antiquated or worthless object"), said to be carnival slang...
    shill
    gambler, auctioneer, etc.," by 1911, in newspaper exposés of fake auctions, perhaps originally a word from U.S. circus or carnival...
    disturbance
    late 13c., "mental distress, emotional disorder of the mind, grief," from Old French destorbance (12c., Old North French distorbance), from destourber, from Latin disturbare "throw into disorder," from dis- "completely" (see dis-) + turbare "to disorder, disturb," from turba "tur
    show
    Middle English sheuen, from Old English sceawian "to look at, see, gaze, behold, observe; inspect, examine; look for, choose," from Proto-Germanic *skauwojanan (source also of Old Saxon skauwon "to look at," Old Frisian skawia, Dutch schouwen, Old High German scouwon "to look at"
    midway
    Old English mid-weg "the middle of a way or distance;" see mid (adj.) + way (n.). Meaning "central avenue of a fairground" is first recorded 1893, American English, in reference to the Midway Plaisance of the Worlds Columbian Exposition held that year in Chicago. The Pacific isla
    festival
    1580s, "a festal day, appointed day of festive celebration," short for festival day (late 14c.), from Old French festival (adj.) "suitable for a feast; solemn, magnificent, joyful, happy," and directly from Medieval Latin festivalis "of a church holiday," from festum "festival, h

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