Etymologically
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carrier

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 05:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkæɹi.ə/ (UK); /ˈkæɹi.ɚ/, /ˈkɛɹi.ɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English cariere, formed from carien, to carry, and the agent suffix -er.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who or that which carries or conveys: 1398 in the OED,[5] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

A person or company that transports goods or passengers for hire is late Middle English,[4] and the bearer of a message from 1588.[5] The carrier pigeon, a breed trained to carry messages tied to its leg, is from the 1640s.[3] Mechanical parts that carry something are from 1858.[5] The medical sense, a person or animal that spreads an infection without showing the disease, is from 1899, and the genetic sense, one carrying a recessive gene, from 1933.[3] As a short form of aircraft carrier it dates from 1917.[3] Later uses include a company providing telephone or Internet service.[6] In Yorkshire and southern dialects a carrier was also an arrangement of rollers and other devices.[7]

Timeline

  • 1398 – one who carries.[5]
  • 1588 – the bearer of a message.[5]
  • 1640s – carrier pigeon.[3]
  • 1899 – a carrier of disease.[3]
  • 1917 – an aircraft carrier.[3]
  • 1933 – a carrier of a gene.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person or thing that carries something; a bearer.
  2. A person or company that transports goods or passengers, or provides telecommunications services.
  3. A person or animal that carries and can spread a disease without showing symptoms, or carries a recessive gene.
  4. An aircraft carrier.
  5. A device or mechanism that conveys something.

Word family

  • intercarrier
  • noncarrier
  • subcarrier
  • supercarrier

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)