Etymograph

English

carnivore

Carnivore comes from French carnivore ‘carnivorous’, from Latin carō ‘meat, flesh’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karō1‘meat’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō2‘meat, flesh’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnivorus3‘feeding on flesh, carnivorous, meat-eating’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarnivore3‘carnivorous’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1990carnivore3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin caro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin carnivorus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English carnivore
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Morrissey, Ouija Board, Ouija Board: “Well, she has now gone / From this unhappy…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, Latin caro‘to cut off, sever’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*karōWiktionary, Latin caro‘meat’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarōWiktionary, Latin carnivorus‘meat, flesh’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarnivorusWiktionary, English carnivore‘feeding on flesh, carnivorous, meat-eating’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentcarnivoreWiktionary, English carnivore‘carnivorous’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1990carnivoreWiktionary, English carnivore. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1990, Morrissey, Ouija Board, Ouija Board: “Well, she has now gone / From this unhappy…”

The story

In the zoological sense, coined by William Whewell in 1840 as an adaptation of Cuvier's coinage, French carnivore.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’

across, short, cross, share, cancer, screen, shirt, circle, circuit, score, crucial, curve, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, scrutiny, shrine, cancellation, scare, crest, circa, scar, corona, scorpion, shear, raffle, circulate, incarceration, shred, crux, corolla, cirque, shrewd, riddance, carcinoma, shard, ruck, circulatory, chancel, 113 more

through Latin carō ‘meat, flesh’

card, incarnation, carnage, incarnate, carnal, carrion, carnation, 13 more

Today it means

noun An organism that feeds chiefly on animals; an animal that feeds on meat as the main part of its diet.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “carnivore”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin caro, Latin carnivorus. 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- / carnivore

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