carnival
pronunciation
How to pronounce carnival in British English:
UK [ˈkɑːnɪvl]
How to pronounce carnival in American English:
US [ˈkɑːrnɪvl]
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- Noun:
- a festival marked by merrymaking and processions
- a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a circus or carnival
- a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.
Word Origin
- carnival
- carnival: [16] Etymologically, carnival means ‘raising flesh’ – that is, the ‘removal of meat’ from the diet during Lent (carnival was originally a period of merrymaking preceding Lent). It comes from medieval Latin carnelevāmen, a compound noun made up of carō ‘flesh’ (source of English carnal) and levāmen, a derivative of the verb levāre ‘lighten, raise’ (source of English lever, levity, and levy).=> carnal, carrion, lever, levy
- 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" (see carnage) + levare "lighten, raise, remove" (see lever (n.)). Folk etymology is from Medieval Latin carne vale " 'flesh, farewell!' " Meaning "a circus or fair" is attested by 1931 in North America.
Example
- 1. Check out this rio carnival guide to get started .
- 2. Carnival has been resilient enough through the financial crisis .
- 3. In the rhineland and the south , it 's carnival time .
- 4. One cannot sustain it on carnival spirit alone .
- 5. The atmosphere at the event is more carnival than campaign rally .