Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
The Druid Carns are generally fenced round the bottom, by a circle of stones: these Carns had always on their summits, a large flat stone, on which the Druid fires were lighted […]1807, George Chalmers, Caledonia:
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| carns | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Adapted from the vernacular pronunciation of c'mon, itself an informal variant of come on. The first uses of the term in its extended sense appear to have been amongst Australian rules football fans in Victoria, with the use later spreading to other states and sports.
Slipper hooted. But in a moment another wedging peak was upon us. "Carn, kid. No guts, no glory." "I don't think so," I said. "It's the only way home now."2008, Tim Winton, Breath, Picador UK Paperback edition 2008, Ch.3, p.52
Surely there is someone in ABC Television management who has read Bruce Dawe's evocative poem Life Cycle: "When children are born in Victoria/they are wrapped in the club-colours, laid in beribboned cots/having already begun a lifetime's barracking/Carn, they cry, carn … feebly at first."2004 February 12, “Keeping sport local on our ABC”, in The Age:
Cries of "Carn the Bunnies" rang out, and the talk was of past glories, present disappointments and future hopes.2001 March 26, “Rabbitohs win hearts and minds of the disaffected”, in The Sydney Morning Herald: