carp
pronunciation
How to pronounce carp in British English:
UK [kɑ:p]
How to pronounce carp in American English:
US [kɑrp]
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- Noun:
- the lean flesh of a fish that is often farmed; can be baked or braised
- any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae
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- Verb:
- raise trivial objections
Word Origin
- carp
- carp: [14] and carp ‘criticize’ [13] are distinct words in English. The former comes from medieval Latin carpa, probably via Old French carpe, but the word is probably ultimately of Germanic origin. The verb, which originally simply meant ‘talk’, was a borrowing from Old Norse karpa. The present-day sense ‘criticize’ did not develop until the 16th century, probably under the influence of Latin carpere ‘pluck’ (related to English harvest), which had the metaphorical meaning ‘slander’.=> harvest
- carp (n.)
- type of freshwater fish, late 14c., from Old French carpe "carp" (13c.) and directly from Vulgar Latin carpa (source also of Italian carpa, Spanish carpa), from a Germanic source (compare Middle Dutch carpe, Dutch karper, Old High German karpfo, German Karpfen "carp"); possibly the immediate source is Gothic *karpa. A Danube fish (hence the proposed East Germanic origin of its name), introduced in English ponds 14c. Lithuanian karpis, Russian karp are Germanic loan words.
- carp (v.)
- "complain," early 13c., originally "to talk," from Old Norse karpa "to brag," which is of unknown origin; meaning turned toward "find fault with" (late 14c.), probably by influence of Latin carpere "to slander, revile," literally "to pluck" (see harvest (n.)). Related: Carped; carping.
Example
- 1. But the carp are perfecting their torpedo techniques .
- 2. The new carp tsar should ensure better co-ordination .
- 3. Catfish , carp and tilapia are often bred this way .
- 4. This month the white house appointed a carp tsar to oversee the campaign .
- 5. Their dna has been detected in numerous spots above the barriers , although just one actual asian carp has been found there .