English
carnation
Carnation may come from Middle French carnation ‘flesh color, complexion’, from Proto-Italic *karō ‘meat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō1‘meat’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō2‘flesh, meat’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnātiō2‘fleshiness’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600carnation2‘flesh color, complexion’by way of Italian carnagioneuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1851carnation2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin caro
- 2 Wiktionary, English carnation
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick: “And the women of New Bedford, they bloom like…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Latin caro‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karōWiktionary, Latin caro‘meat’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarōWiktionary, English carnation‘flesh, meat’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcarnātiōWiktionary, English carnation‘fleshiness’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600carnationWiktionary, English carnation‘flesh color, complexion’by way of Italian carnagioneuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1851carnationWiktionary, English carnation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick: “And the women of New Bedford, they bloom like…”
The story
As a flower and its color, possibly instead from corruption in French of coronation (‘crowning, crowned thing’) under the influence of carnation, from the flower's supposed resemblance to a crown.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
short, across, cross, share, screen, score, cancer, shirt, circle, circuit, crucial, curve, circus, skirt, curb, shrine, scare, crest, scrutiny, circulation, carnival, circa, scar, shred, shear, raffle, corolla, cancellation, shrewd, corona, crux, scorpion, circulate, cirque, scorn, riddance, crepe, carcinoma, corgi, shard, 114 more
through Proto-Italic *karō ‘meat’
through Latin carō ‘flesh, meat’
Today it means
noun originally, Dianthus caryophyllus
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “carnation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin caro. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / carnation