carnival

Etymology

First recorded in the 1540s^[1][2] for the time of merrymaking before Lent,^[1] borrowed from Italian carnevale (partly via French carnaval),^[1][3] an alteration of earlier Italian carnelevare “removal of meat”,^[2][4] from carne “flesh” (Latin carō) + levare “to remove”, from Latin levāre (“to raise, lift”).^[2][5] The name originally belonged to the eve of Ash Wednesday, when meat was put away.^[3]

The popular derivation from Medieval Latin carne vale “flesh, farewell!” is a folk etymology.^[1] The sense “circus or amusement fair” is attested by 1926 in American English.^[1]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. [1] [2] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. [1] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. [1] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin