Chapter 14

Cardinal bird, or Cardinal grosbeak (Zo÷l.), an American song bird (Cardinalis cardinalis, or C. Virginianus), of the family FringillidŠ, or finches having a bright red plumage, and a high, pointed crest on its head. The males have loud and musical notes resembling those of a fife. Other related species are also called cardinal birds. -- Cardinal flower (Bot.), an herbaceous plant (Lobelia cardinalis) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty. -- Cardinal red, a color like that of a cardinal's cassock, hat, etc.; a bright red, darker than scarlet, and between scarlet and crimson.

Car"di*nal*ate (?), n. [Cf. F. cardinalat, LL. cardinalatus.] The office, rank, or dignity of a cardinal.

Car"di*nal*ize (?), v. t. To exalt to the office of a cardinal. Sheldon.

Car"di*nal*ship, n. The condition, dignity, of office of a cardinal

Card"ing (?), a. 1. The act or process of preparing staple for spinning, etc., by carding it. See the Note under Card, v. t.

2. A roll of wool or other fiber as it comes from the carding machine.

Carding engine, Carding machine, a machine for carding cotton, wool, or other fiber, by subjecting it to the action of cylinders, or drum covered with wire-toothed cards, revoling nearly in contact with each other, at different rates of speed, or in opposite directions. The staple issues in soft sheets, or in slender rolls called sivers.

Car"di*o*graph (?), n. [Gr. kardi`a heart + -graph.] (Med.) An instrument which, when placed in contact with the chest, will register graphically the comparative duration and intensity of the heart's movements.

Car`di*o*graph"ic (?), a. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to, or produced by, a cardiograph.

Car"di*oid (?), n. [Gr. kardio-eidh`s heart-shaped; kardi`a heart + e'i^dos shape.] (Math.) An algebraic curve, so called from its resemblance to a heart.

Car`di*o*in*hib"i*to*ry (?), a. (Physiol.) Checking or arresting the heart's action.

Car`di*ol"*gy (?), n. [Gr. kardi`a heart + -ology.] The science which treats of the heart and its functions.

Car`di*om"e*try (?), n. [Gr. &?; heart + -metry.] (Med.) Measurement of the heart, as by percussion or auscultation.

Car`di*o*sphyg"mo*graph (?), n. A combination of cardiograph and sphygmograph.

||Car*di"tis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. kardi`a heart + -itis: cf. F. cardite.] (Med) Inflammation of the fleshy or muscular substance of the heart. See Endocarditis and Pericarditis. Dunglison.

||Car"do (kńr"d&osl;), n.; pl. Cardines (#).) [L., a hinge.] (Zo÷l.) (a) The basal joint of the maxilla in insects. (b) The hinge of a bivalve shell.

Car"dol (kńr"dōl), n. [NL. Anacardium generic name of the cashew + L. oleum oil.] (Chem.) A yellow oily liquid, extracted from the shell of the cashew nut.

Car*doon" (kńr*d&oomac;n"), n. [F. cardon. The same word as F. cardon thistle, fr. L. carduus, cardus, LL. cardo. See 3d Card.] (Bot.) A large herbaceous plant (Cynara Cardunculus) related to the artichoke; -- used in cookery and as a salad.

Care (kÔr), n. [AS. caru, cearu; akin to OS. kara sorrow, Goth. kara, OHG chara, lament, and perh. to Gr. gh^rys voice. Not akin to cure. Cf. Chary.] 1. A burdensome sense of responsibility; trouble caused by onerous duties; anxiety; concern; solicitude.

Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, And where care lodges, sleep will never lie. Shak.

2. Charge, oversight, or management, implying responsibility for safety and prosperity.

The care of all the churches. 2 Cor. xi. 28.

Him thy care must be to find. Milton.

Perplexed with a thousand cares. Shak.

3. Attention or heed; caution; regard; heedfulness; watchfulness; as, take care; have a care.

I thank thee for thy care and honest pains. Shak.

4. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

Right sorrowfully mourning her bereaved cares. Spenser.

Syn. -- Anxiety; solicitude; concern; caution; regard; management; direction; oversight. -- Care, Anxiety, Solicitude, Concern. These words express mental pain in different degress. Care belongs primarily to the intellect, and becomes painful from overburdened thought. Anxiety denotes a state of distressing uneasiness fron the dread of evil. Solicitude expresses the same feeling in a diminished degree. Concern is opposed to indifference, and implies exercise of anxious thought more or less intense. We are careful about the means, solicitous and anxious about the end; we are solicitous to obtain a good, anxious to avoid an evil.

Care, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cared (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Caring.] [AS. cearian. See Care, n.] To be anxious or solicitous; to be concerned; to have regard or interest; -- sometimes followed by an objective of measure.

I would not care a pin, if the other three were in. Shak.

Master, carest thou not that we perish? Mark. iv. 38.

To care for. (a) To have under watchful attention; to take care of. (b) To have regard or affection for; to like or love.

He cared not for the affection of the house. Tennyson.

Ca*reen" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Careened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Careening.] [OF. cariner, F. carÚner, fr. OF. carŔne, the bottom of a ship, keel, fr. L. carina.] (Naut.) To cause (a vessel) to lean over so that she floats on one side, leaving the other side out of water and accessible for repairs below the water line; to case to be off the keel.

Ca*reen" (&?;), v. i. To incline to one side, or lie over, as a ship when sailing on a wind; to be off the keel.

Ca*reen"age (?), n. [Cf. F. carÚnage.] (Naut.) (a) Expense of careening ships. (b) A place for careening.

Ca*reer" (?), n. [F. carriŔre race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.] 1. A race course: the ground run over.

To go back again the same career. Sir P. Sidney.

2. A running; full speed; a rapid course.

When a horse is running in his full career. Wilkins.

3. General course of action or conduct in life, or in a particular part or calling in life, or in some special undertaking; usually applied to course or conduct which is of a public character; as, Washington's career as a soldier.

An impartial view of his whole career. Macaulay.

4. (Falconry) The flight of a hawk.

Ca*reer", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Careered 3; p. pr. & vb. n. Careering] To move or run rapidly.

Careering gayly over the curling waves. W. Irving.

Care"ful (kÔr"f&usdot;l), a. [AS. cearful.] 1. Full of care; anxious; solicitous. [Archaic]

Be careful [Rev. Ver. "anxious"] for nothing. Phil. iv. 6.

The careful plowman doubting stands. Milton.

2. Filling with care or solicitude; exposing to concern, anxiety, or trouble; painful.

The careful cold beginneth for to creep. Spenser.

By Him that raised me to this careful height. Shak.

3. Taking care; giving good heed; watchful; cautious; provident; not indifferent, heedless, or reckless; -- often followed by of, for, or the infinitive; as, careful of money; careful to do right.

Thou hast been careful for us with all this care. 2. Kings iv, 13.

What could a careful father more have done? Dryden.

Syn. -- Anxious; solicitous; provident; thoughtful; cautious; circumspect; heedful; watchful; vigilant.

Care"ful*ly, adv. In a careful manner.

Care"ful*ness, n. Quality or state of being careful.

Care"less (?), a. [AS. cearleßs.] 1. Free from care or anxiety. hence, cheerful; light-hearted. Spenser.

Sleep she as sound as careless infancy. Shak.

2. Having no care; not taking ordinary or proper care; negligent; unconcerned; heedless; inattentive; unmindful; regardless.

My brother was too careless of his charge. Shak.

He grew careless of himself. Steele.

3. Without thought or purpose; without due care; without attention to rule or system; unstudied; inconsiderate; spontaneous; rash; as, a careless throw; a careless expression.

He framed the careless rhyme. Beattie.

4. Not receiving care; uncared for. [R.]

Their many wounds and careless harms. Spenser.

Syn. -- Negligent; heedless; thoughtless; unthinking; inattentive; incautious; remiss; supine; forgetful; regardless; inconsiderate; listless.

Care"less*ly, adv. In a careless manner.

Care"less*ness, n. The quality or state of being careless; heedlessness; negligence; inattention.

Ca*rene" (?), n. [LL. carena, corrupted fr. quarentena. See Quarantine.] (Ecol.) A fast of forty days on bread and water. [Obs.]

Ca*ress" (k&adot;*r&ebreve;s"), n. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.] An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.

Wooed her with his soft caresses. Langfellow.

He exerted himself to win by indulgence and caresses the hearts of all who were under his command. Macaulay.

Ca*ress", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caressed (-r&ebreve;st"); p. pr. & vb. n. Caressing.] [F. caresser, fr. It. carezzare, fr. carezza caress. See Caress., n.] To treat with tokens of fondness, affection, or kindness; to touch or speak to in a loving or endearing manner; to fondle.

The lady caresses the rough bloodhound. Sir W. Scott.

Syn. -- To fondle; embrace; pet; coddle; court; flatter. -- Caress, Fondle. "We caress by words or actions; we fondle by actions only." Crabb.

Ca*ress"ing*ly, adv. In caressing manner.

Ca"ret (kā"r&ebreve;t or kăr"&ebreve;t), n. [L. caret there is wanting, fr. carere to want.] A mark [^] used by writers and proof readers to indicate that something is interlined above, or inserted in the margin, which belongs in the place marked by the caret.

||Ca`ret" (?), n. [F., a species of tortoise.] (Zo÷l.) The hawkbill turtle. See Hawkbill.

Care"-tuned (?), a. Weary; mournful. Shak.

Care"worn` (?), a. Worn or burdened with care; as, careworn look or face.

||Ca"rex (?), n. [L., sedge.] (Bot.) A numerous and widely distributed genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the order CypreaceŠ; the sedges.

Carf (kńrf), pret. of Carve. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Car"ga*son (?), n. [F. cargaison, Sp. cargazon, LL. cargare to load. See rgo.] A cargo. [Obs.]

Car"go (?), n.; pl. Cargoes (#). [Sp. cargo, carga, burden, load, from cargar to load, from cargar to load, charge, See Charge.] The lading or freight of a ship or other vessel; the goods, merchandise, or whatever is conveyed in a vessel or boat; load; freight.

Cargoes of food or clothing. E. Everett.

&fist; The term cargo, in law, is usually applied to goods only, and not to live animals or persons. Burill.

Car"goose` (?), n. [Perh. fr. Gael. & Ir. cir, cior (pronounced kir, kior), crest, comb + E. goose. Cf. Crebe.] (Zo÷l.) A species of grebe (Podiceps crisratus); the crested grebe.

||ăa`ri*a"ma (sń`r&esl;*&adot;"m&adot;), n. [Native name.] (Zo÷l.) A large, long-legged South American bird (Dicholophus cristatus) which preys upon snakes, etc. See Seriema.

Car"ib (?), n.; pl. Caries. [See Cannibal.] (Ethol.) A native of the Caribbee islands or the coasts of the Caribbean sea; esp., one of a tribe of Indians inhabiting a region of South America, north of the Amazon, and formerly most of the West India islands.

{ Car`ib*be"an (?), Car`ib*bee (?), } a. Of or pertaining to the Caribs, to their islands (the eastern and southern West Indies), or to the sea (called the Caribbean sea) lying between those islands and Central America.

Car"ib*bee, n. A Carib.

||Ca*ri"be (?), n. [Sp. a cannibal.] (Zo÷l). A south American fresh water fish of the genus Serrasalmo of many species, remarkable for its voracity. When numerous they attack man or beast, often with fatal results.

Car"i*bou (kăr"&ibreve;*b&oomac;), n. [Canadian French.] (Zo÷l.) The American reindeer, especially the common or woodland species (Rangifer Caribou).

Barren Ground caribou. See under Barren. -- Woodland caribou, the common reindeer (Rangifer Caribou) of the northern forests of America.

Car"i*ca*ture (?), n. [It. caricatura, fr. caricare to charge, overload, exaggerate. See Charge, v. t.] 1. An exaggeration, or distortion by exaggeration, of parts or characteristics, as in a picture.

2. A picture or other figure or description in which the peculiarities of a person or thing are so exaggerated as to appear ridiculous; a burlesque; a parody. [Formerly written caricatura.]

The truest likeness of the prince of French literature will be the one that has most of the look of a caricature. I. Taylor.

A grotesque caricature of virtue. Macaulay.

Car"i*ca*ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caricatured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Caricaturing.] To make or draw a caricature of; to represent with ridiculous exaggeration; to burlesque.

He could draw an ill face, or caricature a good one, with a masterly hand. Lord Lyttelton.

Car"i*ca*tu`rist (?), n. One who caricatures.

Car"i*cous (?), a. [L. carica a kind of dry fig.] Of the shape of a fig; as, a caricous tumor. Graig.

||Ca"ri*es (?), n.[L., decay.] (Med.) Ulceration of bone; a process in which bone disintegrates and is carried away piecemeal, as distinguished from necrosis, in which it dies in masses.

Car"il*lon (?), n. [F. carillon a chime of bells, originally consisting of four bells, as if fr.. (assumed) L. quadrilio, fr. quatuer four.]

1. (Mus.) A chime of bells diatonically tuned, played by clockwork or by finger keys.

2. A tune adapted to be played by musical bells.

||Ca*ri"na (?), n. [L., keel.] 1. (Bot.) A keel. (a) That part of a papilionaceous flower, consisting of two petals, commonly united, which incloses the organs of fructification. (b) A longitudinal ridge or projection like the keel of a boat.

2. (Zo÷l.) The keel of the breastbone of birds.

Car`i*na"ri*a (?), n. [NL., fr. L. carina keel.] (Zo÷l.) A genus of oceanic heteropod Mollusca, having a thin, glassy, bonnet-shaped shell, which covers only the nucleus and gills.

||Car`i*na"tŠ (?), n. pl. [NL., Fem. pl. fr. L. carinatus. See Carinate.] A grand division of birds, including all existing flying birds; -- So called from the carina or keel on the breastbone.

{ Car"i*nate (?), Car"i*na`ted (?) } a. [L. carinatus, fr. carina keel.] Shaped like the keel or prow of a ship; having a carina or keel; as, a carinate calyx or leaf; a carinate sternum (of a bird).

Car"i*ole (?), n. [F. carriole, dim. fr. L. carrus. See Car, and Carryall.] (a) A small, light, open one-horse carriage. (b) A covered cart. (c) A kind of calash. See Carryall.

Car`i*op"sis (?), n. See Caryopsis.

Ca`ri*os"i*ty (?), n. (Med.) Caries.

Ca"ri*ous (?), a. [L. cariosus, fr. caries dacay.] Affected with caries; decaying; as, a carious tooth.

Cark (kńrk), n. [OE. cark, fr. a dialectic form of F. charge; cf. W. carc anxiety, care, Arm karg charge, burden. See Charge, and cf. Cargo.] A noxious or corroding care; solicitude; worry. [Archaic.]

His heavy head, devoid of careful cark. Spenser.

Fling cark and care aside. Motherwell.

Freedom from the cares of money and the cark of fashion. R. D. Blackmore.

Cark (kńrk), v. i. To be careful, anxious, solicitous, or troubled in mind; to worry or grieve. [R.] Beau. & Fl.

Cark, v. t. To vex; to worry; to make by anxious care or worry. [R.]

Nor can a man, independently . . . of God's blessing, care and cark himself one penny richer. South.

Car"ka*net (?), n. A carcanet. Southey.

Cark"ing (?), a. Distressing; worrying; perplexing; corroding; as, carking cares.

Carl (?), n. [Icel, karl a male, a man; akin to AS. ceorl, OHG. charal, G. kerl fellow. See Churl.] [Written also carle.] 1. A rude, rustic man; a churl.

The miller was a stout carl. Chaucer.

2. Large stalks of hemp which bear the seed; -- called also carl hemp.

3. pl. A kind of food. See citation, below.

Caring or carl are gray steeped in water and fried the next day in butter or fat. They are eaten on the second Sunday before Easter, formerly called Carl Sunday. Robinson's Whitby Glossary (1875).

Car"lin (?), n. [Dim., fr. carl male.] An old woman. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

{ Car"line (?), Car"o*line (?) }, n. [F. carin; cf. It. carlino; -- so called from Carlo (Charles) VI. of Naples.] A silver coin once current in some parts of Italy, worth about seven cents. Simmonds.

{ Car"line (?), Car"ling (?) } n. [Cf. F. carlingur, Sp. Pg., & It. carlinga.] (Naut.) A short timber running lengthwise of a ship, from one transverse desk beam to another; also, one of the cross timbers that strengthen a hath; -- usually in pl.

Car"line this`tle (?). [F. carline, It., Sp., & Pg., carlina. Said to be so called from the Emperor Charlemagne, whose army is reputed to have used it as a remedy for pestilence.] (Bot.) A prickly plant of the genus Carlina (C. vulgaris), found in Europe and Asia.

Car"lings (?), n. pl. Same as Carl, 3.

Carling Sunday, a Sunday in Lent when carls are eaten. In some parts of England, Passion Sunday. See Carl, 4.

Car"list (kńr"l&ibreve;st), n. A partisan of Charles X. of France, or of Don Carlos of Spain.

Car"lock (?), n. [F. carlock, fr. Russ. Karl˙k'.] A sort of Russian isinglass, made from the air bladder of the sturgeon, and used in clarifying wine.

Car"lot (?), n. [From Carl.] A churl; a boor; a peasant or countryman. [Obs.] Shak.

Car`lo*vin"gi*an (?), a. [F. Carlovingen.] Pertaining to, founded by, of descended from, Charlemagne; as, the Carlovingian race of kings.

||Car`ma`gnole" (?), n. [F.] 1. A popular or Red Rebublican song and dance, of the time of the first French Revolution.

They danced and yelled the carmagnole. Compton Reade.

2. A bombastic report from the French armies.

Car"man (?), n.; pl. Carmen (&?;) A man whose employment is to drive, or to convey goods in, a car or car.

{ Car"mel*ite (?), Car"mel*in } a. Of or pertaining to the order of Carmelites.

Car"mel*ite (?), n. 1. (Eccl. Hist.) A friar of a mendicant order (the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel) established on Mount Carmel, in Syria, in the twelfth century; a White Friar.

2. A nun of the Order of Our lady of Mount Carmel.

Car"mi*na`ted (?), a. Of, relating to, or mixed with, carmine; as, carminated lake. Tomlinson.

Car*min"ative (?), a. [NL. carminativus (1622), fr. carminare to card, hence to cleanse, fr. carmen a card for freeing wool or flax from the coarser parts, and from extraneous matter: cf. F. carminatif.] Expelling wind from the body; warming; antispasmodic. "Carminative hot seeds." Dunglison.

Car*min"a*tive, n. A substance, esp. an aromatic, which tends to expel wind from the alimentary canal, or to relieve colic, griping, or flatulence.

Car"mine (?), n. [F. carmin (cf. Sp. carmin, It. carminio), contr. from LL. carmesinus purple color. See Crimson.] 1. A rich red or crimson color with a shade of purple.

2. A beautiful pigment, or a lake, of this color, prepared from cochineal, and used in miniature painting.

3. (Chem.) The essential coloring principle of cochineal, extracted as a purple-red amorphous mass. It is a glucoside and possesses acid properties; -- hence called also carminic acid.

Carmine red (Chem.), a coloring matter obtained from carmine as a purple-red substance, and probably allied to the phthale´ns.

Car*min"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to, or derived from, carmine.

Carminic acid. Same as Carmine, 3.

Car"mot (?), n. (Alchemy) The matter of which the philosopher's stone was believed to be composed.

Car"nage (?), n. [F. carnage, LL. carnaticum tribute of animals, flesh of animals, fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh. See Carnal.] 1. Flesh of slain animals or men.

A miltitude of dogs came to feast on the carnage. Macaulay.

2. Great destruction of life, as in battle; bloodshed; slaughter; massacre; murder; havoc.

The more fearful carnage of the Bloody Circuit. Macaulay.

Car"nal (?), a. [L. carnalis, fr. caro, carnis, flesh; akin to Gr. &?;, Skr. kravya; cf. F. charnel, Of. also carnel. Cf. Charnel.] 1. Of or pertaining to the body or its appetites; animal; fleshly; sensual; given to sensual indulgence; lustful; human or worldly as opposed to spiritual.

For ye are yet carnal. 1 Cor. iii. 3.

Not sunk in carnal pleasure. Milton

Carnal desires after miracles. Trench.

2. Flesh-devouring; cruel; ravenous; bloody. [Obs.]

This carnal cur Preys on the issue of his mother's body. Shak.

Carnal knowledge, sexual intercourse; -- used especially of an unlawful act on the part of the man.

Car"nal*ism (?), n. The state of being carnal; carnality; sensualism. [R.]

Car"nal*ist (?), n. A sensualist. Burton.

Car*nal"i*ty (?), n. [L. carnalitas.] The state of being carnal; fleshly lust, or the indulgence of lust; grossness of mind.

Because of the carnality of their hearts. Tillotson.

Car"nal*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Carnalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Carnalizing.] To make carnal; to debase to carnality.

A sensual and carnalized spirit. John Scott.

Car"nal*lite (?), n. [G. carnallit, fr. Von Carnall, a Prussian.] (Min.) A hydrous chloride of potassium and magnesium, sometimes found associated with deposits of rock salt.

Car"nal*ly (?), adv. According to the flesh, to the world, or to human nature; in a manner to gratify animal appetites and lusts; sensually.

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom. viii. 6.

Car"nal-mind`ed (?), a. Worldly-minded.

Car"nal-mind"ed*ness, n. Grossness of mind.

Car"na*ry (?), n. [L. carnarium, fr. caro, carnis, flesh.] A vault or crypt in connection with a church, used as a repository for human bones disintered from their original burial places; a charnel house.

Car*nas"si*al (?), a. [Cf. F. carnassier carnivorous, and L. caro, carnis, flesh.] (Anat.) Adapted to eating flesh. -- n. A carnassial tooth; especially, the last premolar in many carnivores.

Car"nate (?), a. [L. carnatus fleshy.] Invested with, or embodied in, flesh.

Car*na"tion (?), n. [F. carnation the flesh tints in a painting, It carnagione, fr. L. carnatio fleshiness, fr. caro, carnis, flesh. See Carnal.] 1. The natural color of flesh; rosy pink.

Her complexion of the delicate carnation. Ld. Lytton.

2. pl. (Paint.) Those parts of a picture in which the human body or any part of it is represented in full color; the flesh tints.

The flesh tints in painting are termed carnations. Fairholt.

3. (Bot.) A species of Dianthus (D. Caryophyllus) or pink, having very beautiful flowers of various colors, esp. white and usually a rich, spicy scent.

Car*na"tioned (?), a. Having a flesh color.

||Car*nau"ba (?), n. (Bot.) The Brazilian wax palm. See Wax palm.

Car*nel"ian (?), n. [For carnelian; influenced by L. carneus fleshy, of flesh, because of its flesh red color. See Cornellan.] (Min.) A variety of chalcedony, of a clear, deep red, flesh red, or reddish white color. It is moderately hard, capable of a good polish, and often used for seals.

Car"ne*ous (?), a. [L. carneus, from caro, carnis, flesh.] Consisting of, or like, flesh; carnous; fleshy. "Carneous fibers." Ray.

Car"ney (?), n. [Cf. L. carneus flesh.] (Far.) A disease of horses, in which the mouth is so furred that the afflicted animal can not eat.

||Car"ni*fex (?), n. [L., fr. caro, carnis, flesh + facere to make.] (Antiq.) The public executioner at Rome, who executed persons of the lowest rank; hence, an executioner or hangman.

Car`ni*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. carnification.] The act or process of turning to flesh, or to a substance resembling flesh.

Car"ni*fy (?), v. i. [LL. carnificare, fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh + facere to make: cf. F. carnifier.] To form flesh; to become like flesh. Sir M. Hale.

Car"nin (?), n. [L. caro, canis , flesh.] (Chem.) A white crystalline nitrogenous substance, found in extract of meat, and related to xanthin.

Car"ni*val (?), n. [It. carnevale, prob. for older carnelevale, prop., the putting away of meat; fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh + levare to take away, lift up, fr. levis light.] 1. A festival celebrated with merriment and revelry in Roman Gatholic countries during the week before Lent, esp. at Rome and Naples, during a few days (three to ten) before Lent, ending with Shrove Tuesday.

The carnival at Venice is everywhere talked of. Addison.