Etymograph

English

caruncle

Caruncle comes from Latin caruncula ‘a little piece of flesh’, and goes back to 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‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarō2‘flesh’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaruncula2‘a little piece of flesh’diminutive of carō
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600caruncule2
  6. Englishtodaycaruncle2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin caro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English caruncle

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‘piece, portion’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarōWiktionary, English caruncle‘flesh’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcarunculaWiktionary, English caruncle‘a little piece of flesh’diminutive of carō
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600carunculeWiktionary, English caruncle
  6. EnglishtodaycaruncleWiktionary, English caruncle

Linked words

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

short, across, cross, share, screen, score, shirt, cancer, circuit, circle, curve, crucial, circus, circulation, skirt, curb, shrine, crest, scare, scrutiny, carnival, cancellation, corona, scorpion, circa, shred, scar, shear, circulate, corolla, scorn, shrewd, raffle, incarceration, cirque, circulatory, crepe, carcinoma, corgi, crux, 111 more

through Proto-Italic *karō ‘piece, portion’

carnitas, 12 more

through Latin carō ‘flesh’

card, incarnation, carnage, carnal, carnivorous, incarnate, carnation, carnivore, carrion, 11 more

Today it means

noun A small, fleshy excrescence that is a normal part of an animal's anatomy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “caruncle”; 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- / caruncle

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