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carmino

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word carmino

carmino1 put into verse

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
354–430 AD, Augustine
Ultimate origin
Latin carmen
Etymology tree of carmino1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin carmen
French charme
Latin carmino

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkar.mɪ.noː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkar.mi.no][1]

Forms

carminō (present infinitive carmināre, perfect active carmināvī, supine carminātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

The verb “to put into verse” is from Latin carmen (“song, poem”) + -ō.[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine (354–430 AD) uses it against Julian, asking from which poets he learned to picture a two-limbed beast, nōn quidem carminandō, sed blasphēmandō, “not by versifying, though, but by blaspheming”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Sidonius Apollinaris uses it of composing a votive piece and of putting Greek words into verse.[6][4][5] Glossaries explain it with pangit and compōnit, “composes, joins”.[2] It was also used of chanting spells,[2][3][7] and Aldhelm has it of putting chapters into metre.[7] The TLL and Georges derive French charmer from it.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 354–430 AD – Augustine contrasts versifying with blaspheming.[2][8]
  • c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris, in his letters, of writing verse.[6][4][8]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm, of putting chapters into verse.[7][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Late Latin, transitive) To put into verse;[4][5][6] (absolute) to write poetry.[4][5][6]
  2. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) To chant spells; to enchant.[3][7][2]

carmino2 card wool

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC, Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin cārō#1
Etymology tree of carmino2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin caro
French chair
Italian carne
Latin carmino
From the same root · carmino2
Latin carnarium ← caro

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkar.mɪ.noː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkar.mi.no][1]

Forms

carminō (present infinitive carmināre, perfect active carmināvī, supine carminātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

The verb “to card” is formed from a noun ⟨carmen⟩ “card for wool”, which is from Latin cārō1 (“to card”).[9][6][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro (116–27 BC), in De lingua Latina, says that wool is said to be carded when what clings to it is plucked out.[2][4][8]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder uses it of wool and of flax,[6][3][2] and the OLD also gives it the sense of producing something by carding.[9] Isidore of Seville writes that wool which is cleaned by pulling it apart is said to be carded.[2] Augustine uses it figuratively: Christ, foretold by the Old Testament, now cards it, sifting out the few things in it that are to be accepted.[2] In Medieval Latin it still means to comb or card,[7] and the emperor Frederick II uses it of parent birds scratching grain towards their young with their feet.[7]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro explains the term for carding wool.[2][8]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder, of wool and flax.[6][8]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it figuratively of sifting the Old Testament.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To card (wool); to hackle (flax).[9][3][4][6]
  2. To produce by carding.[9][1]
  3. (Late Latin, figurative) To sift, purify.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) To push together by scratching.[7]

Word family

  • carminātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Carmino.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/carmino. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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