carnival

English Online Dictionary. What means carnival‎? What does carnival mean?

English

Alternative forms

• carnaval (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French carnaval, from Italian carnevale, possibly from the Latin phrase carnem levāmen (“meat dismissal”). Other scholars suggest Latin carnuālia (“meat-based country feast”) or carrus nāvālis (“boat wagon; float”) instead. Doublet of carnaval.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑːnɪvəl/, [ˈkɑːnɪvl̩]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑɹnɪvəl/, [ˈkɑɹnɪvl̩]; /kɑɹnəˈvɑl/ (referring to pre-Lenten festivals in various Romance-speaking countries)
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkaːnɪvəl/, [ˈkaːnɪvl̩]

Noun

carnival (plural carnivals)

1. Any of a number of festivals held just before the beginning of Lent.

2. A festive occasion marked by parades and sometimes special foods and other entertainment.
3. (US) A traveling amusement park, called a funfair in British English.

4. (sociology) A context in which transgression or inversion of the social order is given temporary license. Derived from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin.
5. (figurative) A gaudily chaotic situation.

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: カーニバル (kānibaru)

Translations

Verb

carnival (third-person singular simple present carnivals, present participle carnivalling or carnivaling, simple past and past participle carnivalled or carnivaled)

1. (informal, rare) To participate in a carnival.
2. (literary) To move about playfully or wildly.

References

Further reading

• “carnival, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• carnival on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Mardi Gras on Wikipedia.Wikipedia