carrier English · revision 6218

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1398}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæɹi.ə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkæɹi.ɚ/, /ˈkɛɹi.ɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English cariere, formed from carien, to [[carry]], and the agent suffix [[-er]].^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who or that which carries or conveys: 1398 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person or company that transports goods or passengers for hire is late Middle English,^(SOED 2002) and the bearer of a message from 1588.^(OED 1989) The carrier pigeon, a breed trained to carry messages tied to its leg, is from the 1640s.^(Etymonline) Mechanical parts that carry something are from 1858.^(OED 1989) 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.^(Etymonline) As a short form of [[aircraft carrier]] it dates from 1917.^(Etymonline) Later uses include a company providing telephone or Internet service.^(AHD) In Yorkshire and southern dialects a carrier was also an arrangement of rollers and other devices.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – one who carries.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1588 – the bearer of a message.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1640s – carrier pigeon.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1899 – a carrier of disease.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1917 – an aircraft carrier.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1933 – a carrier of a gene.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or thing that carries something; a bearer.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or company that transports goods or passengers, or provides [[telecommunications]] services.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or animal that carries and can spread a [[disease]] without showing symptoms, or carries a [[recessive]] [[gene]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An [[aircraft carrier]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A device or mechanism that conveys something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[intercarrier]]

+ * [[noncarrier]]

+ * [[subcarrier]]

+ * [[supercarrier]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[carry]]

+ * [[carriage]]

+ * [[cargo]]

+ * [[car]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}