carnival English · revision 37

+ ==Etymology==

+ First recorded in the 1540s^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) for the time of merrymaking before Lent,^(Etymonline) [[bor|it|carnevale]] (partly via [[fr|carnaval]]),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) an alteration of earlier Italian ''carnelevare'' “removal of meat”,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''carne'' “flesh” ([[la|carō]]) + ''levare'' “to remove”, from [[la|levāre|t=to raise, lift]].^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD) The name originally belonged to the eve of Ash Wednesday, when meat was put away.^(OED 1989)

+

+ The popular derivation from Medieval Latin ''carne vale'' “flesh, farewell!” is a folk etymology.^(Etymonline) The sense “circus or amusement fair” is attested by 1926 in American English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}