Link Centre Dictionary

carnival

car·ni·val

UK/ˈkɑːnɪvəl/ US/ˈkɑːnɪvl̩/ fairly common informal literary us

noun

1.

a festival marked by merrymaking and processions

2.

a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment

  • “it was so funny it was a circus”
  • “the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere”
Synonyms
3.

a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc.

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle French carnaval, from Italian carnevale, possibly from the Latin phrase carnem levāmen (“meat dismissal”). Other scholars suggest Latin carnuālia (“meat-based country feast”) or carrus nāvālis (“boat wagon; float”) instead. Doublet of carnaval.

Phrases

  • blog carnival
  • carnival glass
  • surf carnival
  • winter carnival

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.