carrot
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English karette and Middle French carotte, both from Latin carōta, from Ancient Greek καρωτόν (karōtón). Doublet of carotte and related to caraway. Displaced native Middle English more, from Old English more, moru (“edible root, parsnip, carrot”), related to German Möhre (“carrot”).
- Noun sense of "motivational tool" refers to carrot and stick.
- Verb sense in felt manufacture refers to the orange colour of drying furs.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kâr'ət, IPA(key): /ˈkæɹ.ət/
- (General American) enPR: kâr'ət, kĕr'ət IPA(key): /ˈkæɹ.ət/, /ˈkɛɹ.ət/
Audio (US, without the Mary–marry–merry merger): (file) - Rhymes: -æɹət
Audio (US, Mary–marry–merry merger): (file) - Homophones: carat, karat
- Homophone: caret (weak vowel merger)
- Hyphenation: car‧rot
Noun
editcarrot (countable and uncountable, plural carrots)
- A vegetable with a nutritious, juicy, sweet root that is often orange in colour, Daucus carota, especially the subspecies sativus in the family Apiaceae.
- Synonym: (obsolete) more
- A shade of orange similar to the flesh of most carrots (also called carrot orange).
- carrot:
- (figurative) Any motivational tool; an incentive to do something.
- Coordinate term: stick
- 2023 August 7, Paul Krugman, “Climate Is Now a Culture War Issue”, in The New York Times[2]:
- In 2022, when the Biden administration finally succeeded in passing a major climate bill, it consisted almost entirely of carrots—tax credits and subsidies for green energy.
- (UK, slang, derogatory) Someone from a rural background.
- (UK, slang) A police officer from somewhere within the British Isles, but specifically outside of Greater London.
- (slang) A redhead; a ginger-haired person
Derived terms
edit- baby carrot
- baby-cut carrot
- Camberwell carrot
- carotane
- carotene
- carrot-and-stick
- carrot and stick
- carrot bacon
- carrot bag
- carrot cake
- carrot cruncher
- carrot dog
- carroter
- carrot fly
- carrotish
- carrotless
- carrotlike
- carrot-nosed
- carrot top
- carrot-top
- carrot-topped
- carrot weevil
- carrotwood
- carroty
- cry carrots and turnips
- deadly carrot
- like peas and carrots
- moon carrot
- rainbow carrots
- stick-and-carrot
- stick and carrot
- wild carrot
Descendants
editTranslations
editDaucus carota ssp. sativus
|
shade
|
motivational tool
See also
editReferences
edit- “carrot”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Verb
editcarrot (third-person singular simple present carrots, present participle carroting, simple past and past participle carroted)
- (transitive) To treat (an animal pelt) with a solution of mercuric nitrate as part of felt manufacture.
Derived terms
editSee also
editAnagrams
editCategories:
- English terms derived from a Pre-Greek substrate
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æɹət
- Rhymes:English/æɹət/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- British English
- English slang
- English derogatory terms
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Oranges
- en:Law enforcement
- en:People
- en:Scandiceae tribe plants
- en:Vegetables
- en:Root vegetables