carnivorus

Forms

carnivorus (feminine carnivora, neuter carnivorum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin carō² (“flesh”) + vorō (“to devour”) with the adjective ending ⟨-us⟩.^[2][3][1] The first element goes back to Proto-Indo-European *k(e)rH-n- (“piece”),^[4] the second to Proto-Indo-European *gʷo/erh₃-o/h₂- (“devouring”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD),^[5][6] who notes that all animals with saw-like teeth eat flesh.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It stayed a rare word for animals that feed on flesh:^[6][2] besides Pliny, the TLL cites Tertullian, who speaks of flesh-eating beasts and birds, and a Greek–Latin glossary.^[3] English formed carnivorous from it in the 1640s, and carnivore came later through French.^[7]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder calls saw-toothed animals flesh-eating.^[3][5]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian writes of flesh-eating beasts and birds.^[3][5]
• 1640s – Borrowed into English as carnivorous.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Flesh-eating, carnivorous (of animals).^[2][6][1]

Related words

• English carnivorous

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com