Etymograph

English

carnitas

Carnitas comes from Spanish carne ‘meat’, from Proto-Italic *karō ‘piece, portion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker(H)-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker(H)-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kér(H)ō1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō1‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnem1
  5. Old Spanishc. 950–1500carne1‘flesh, meat’
  6. Spanishc. 1500–presentcarne2‘meat’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentcarnitas2diminutive of carne
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2006carnitas2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Spanish carne
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English carnitas
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Deborah M. Schneider: “Carnitas is easy to make, even if you don't…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker(H)-Wiktionary, Spanish carnereconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kér(H)ōWiktionary, Spanish carnereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karōWiktionary, Spanish carne‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnemWiktionary, Spanish carne
  5. Old Spanishc. 950–1500carneWiktionary, Spanish carne‘flesh, meat’
  6. Spanishc. 1500–presentcarneWiktionary, English carnitas‘meat’
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentcarnitasWiktionary, English carnitasdiminutive of carne
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2006carnitasWiktionary, English carnitas. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2006, Deborah M. Schneider: “Carnitas is easy to make, even if you don't…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *karō ‘piece, portion’

card, incarnation, incarnate, carnal, carrion, carnation, 15 more

through Latin carnem

carnage, 1 more

Today it means

noun A Mexican dish of strips or chunks of pork (or sometimes other meat) which are braised or roasted, especially in their own fat.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “carnitas”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish carne. 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(H)- / carnitas

Shirt and support for this word