From Late Middle English carpe (“the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)”), from Old French carpe, from Late Latin carpa, possibly from Proto-West Germanic *karpo (possibly due to the introduction from the fish from the Danube into England in the 14th century; whence Middle Low German karpe and Old High German charpho, karpho); further etymology unknown.
Meanings
Any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae.
Like scaly carp and feathered swan
To nature's world we do belong. 1988, “Mayhem Maybe”, in Ian Anderson (music), 20 Years of Jethro Tull, performed by Jethro Tull:
Matsumoto Castle exhibits the architecture of both war and peace, from its steep wooden stairs, hidden inner levels and archer’s perches to the moon-viewing room added in 1630, which also offers a vantage point for viewing the brocaded carps and ducks residing in the castle moat. 2023 May 18, David McElhenney, “13 of Japan’s best castles”, in CNN:
Illinois took the initiative in renaming the Asian carp given the state’s position as a sort of “last stand” against the carp entering the Great Lakes. 2022 June 22, Patti Wetli, “Introducing Copi, the Fish Formerly Known as Asian Carp”, in WTTW:
The Carp is a ſtately, a good, and a ſubtle fiſh, a fiſh that hath not (as it is ſaid) been long in England, but ſaid to be by one Mr. Maſcall (a Gentleman then living at Plumſted in Suſſex) brought into this Nation: […] Carps and Loches are obſerved to breed ſeveral months in one year, vvhich moſt other fiſh do not, and it is the rather believed, becauſe you ſhall ſcarce or never take a Male Carp vvithout a Melt, or a Female vvithout a Roe or Spavvn; […] 1653, Iz[aak] Wa[lton], chapter VIII, in The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing, […], London: […] T. Maxey for Rich[ard] Marriot, […], →OCLC; reprinted as The Compleat Angler (Homo Ludens; 6), Nieuwkoop, South Holland, Netherlands: Miland Publishers, 1969, →ISBN, pages 161–162:
(often, specifically) Any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. ▸ The common carp, Cyprinus carpio.
ja コイ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · he קרפיון (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sh кра̏п (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sh krȁp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · lt karpis (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · be карп (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · id ikan mas (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · tr sazan (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · th ไน (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · az çəki balığı (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · fr carpe (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · cmn 鯉魚 /鲤鱼 (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · la carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ta கெண்டை (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ar شَبُّوط (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · fo karpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · nb karpefisk (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ota سازان (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · syc ܫܒܘܛܐ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · mi morihana (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sq krap (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · pl karp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ast carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · hu ponty (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · mnc ᡶᡠᠰᡝᠯᡳ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · grc κυπρῖνος (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ca carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · uk ко́роп (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · cs kapr (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · eu karpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ms ikan mas (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · nrf carpe (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · az sazan (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · de Karpfen (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · zza kapır (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · rsk потька (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · eo karpo (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · nn karpe (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ka ჭანარი (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · id karper (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · dsb karpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · zza sazan (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · fi karppi (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · mk крап (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · af karp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · axm շապութ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · gl carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sl krap (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · io karpo (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · pt carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · kk тұқы (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · fa کپور (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ceb karpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · yi קאַרפּ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · nl karper (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · az karp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ro crap (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · hsb karp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · vi cá chép (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · nb karpe (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · tl karpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ru саза́н (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · el κυπρίνος (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · is vatnakarfi (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ga carbán (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · mdf шипёр (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ta சேல் (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ii ꆹꒄꉛ (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · bg шара́н (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · hy ծածան (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ka კობრი (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ja 鯉 (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · es carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sh ша̀ран (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · abe wôbhagas (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ta கெண்டைமீன் (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · vo karip (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sk kapor (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · it reina (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · da karpe (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · it carpa (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sh šàran (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · sv karp (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ru карп (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ko 잉어 (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae) · ms kap (any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae)
The verb is derived from Middle English carpen, karpe (“to chat, converse, talk; to chatter, gossip; to ask; to cry out, wail; to find fault, carp; to relate, tell; to recite; to sing”), and then partly:
* from Old Norse karpa (“to boast, brag; to dispute, quarrel”), further etymology unknown; and
* from, or influenced by, Latin carpere, the present active infinitive of carpō (“to harvest, pick, pluck; to criticize, revile, slander, carp at”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerp- (“to harvest, pluck”).
The noun is derived from the verb. (Middle English carp, karp (“conversation, discourse, talking; spoken or written message or statement; meaning; news; poem; song; story”), from Old Norse karp (“bragging”), did not survive into modern English.)
Meanings
An instance of, or speech, complaining or criticizing about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons; a cavil.
The verb is derived from Middle English carpen, karpe (“to chat, converse, talk; to chatter, gossip; to ask; to cry out, wail; to find fault, carp; to relate, tell; to recite; to sing”), and then partly:
* from Old Norse karpa (“to boast, brag; to dispute, quarrel”), further etymology unknown; and
* from, or influenced by, Latin carpere, the present active infinitive of carpō (“to harvest, pick, pluck; to criticize, revile, slander, carp at”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kerp- (“to harvest, pluck”).
The noun is derived from the verb. (Middle English carp, karp (“conversation, discourse, talking; spoken or written message or statement; meaning; news; poem; song; story”), from Old Norse karp (“bragging”), did not survive into modern English.)
Meanings
(intransitive) To criticize or complain about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons; to cavil.
[W]ith your good countenance protect against the malice of euill mouthes, vvhich are alvvaies vvide open to carpe at and miſconstrue my ſimple meaning. 1592 January 6 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Ed. Spencer [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “To the Right Worthy and Noble Knight Sir Walter Raleigh, […]”, in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for William Ponsonbie, published 1595, →OCLC, signature A2, recto:
Here agayne Seruetto carpeth, yͭ God did beare the perſon of an Angel. As thoughe the Prophete did not confirme that whiche Moſes had ſaied: why doeſt thou aſke me of my name? 1561 May 16 (Gregorian calendar), Ihon Caluin [i.e., John Calvin], “That there is Taught in the Scriptures One Essence of God from the Very Creation, which Essence Conteineth in It Thre Persons”, in [Thomas Norton], transl., The Institution of Christian Religion, […], London: […] Reinolde [i.e., Reginald?] Wolfe & Richarde Harison, →OCLC, 1st book, folio 34, recto:
[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of] Clarendon's touch, where in his memoirs he speaks of Falkland, is simpler than in the History. But we will not carp at this great writer and faithful friend. 1879, Matthew Arnold, “Falkland”, in Mixed Essays, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 207:
[I]f vve ſhould never cenſure vvithout great Reaſon or neceſſity, hovv ſeldom ſhould vve do it? […] [D]o vve not eagerly ſearch after, and greedily embrace all occaſions to do it? Is it not a pleaſant entertainment to us, to be carping and cavelling at any Body vve meet, at any thing vve ſee done? a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “The Eighth Sermon. S. Matth[ew] 7. 1.”, in Several Sermons against Evil-Speaking, London: […] Brabazon Aylmer, […], published 1678, →OCLC, pages 58–59:
My vvorthy friend, ne'er grudge an' carp, / Tho' Fortune uſe you hard an' ſharp; / Come, kittle up your moorland harp / VVi' gleeſome touch! 1785 April 21 (date written), Robert Burns, “To the Same [Epistle to J[ohn] L[aprai]k, an Old Scottish Bard]”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 2nd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 95:
Enuie vvhy carpeſt thou my time is ſpent ſo ill, / And termſt my vvorkes fruites of an idle quill. c. 1580s (date written), C[hristoper] M[arlowe], “Elegia. 15. Ad inuidos, qaod fama poetarum sit perennis.”, in Ouids Elegies: Three Bookes. […], Middlebourgh [i.e., London: […] Thomas Cotes?], published c. 1640, →OCLC, signature [B6], verso:
(intransitive, obsolete) To speak, to talk; also, to talk about a subject in speech or writing.
(intransitive, obsolete) To talk much but to little purpose; to chatter, to prattle.
And some of them barke, / Clatter and carpe / Of that heresy arte / Called Wicleuista, / The deuelysshe dogmatista; […] 1521–1522, John Skelton, “Here after Followeth a Litel Boke Called Colyn Cloute, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 332, lines 548–552:
Psha! thou carpest and carpest, and yet tell'st nought; in a word, What say'st thou to him? 1825, T[homas] Doubleday, Babington. A Tragedy, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene iii, page 54:
And therwithall came curiouſneſſe and carped out of frame. / The audience laught to heare the ſtrife as they beheld the ſame. 1557 August 10 (Gregorian calendar), [Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; Thomas Wyatt; et al.], “A Praise of Maistresse R.”, in Songes and Sonettes, London: […] Richard Tottel, →OCLC, folio 84, verso:
(intransitive, obsolete) Of a bird: to sing; of a person (such as a minstrel): to sing or recite.
Then aye he harped, and aye he carped, / Till a' the Lordlings footed the floor; / But an' the music was sae sweet, / The groom had nae mind o' the stable door. 1802, “The Lochmaben Harper”, in Walter Scott, editor, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border: […], volume I, Kelso, Roxburghshire: […] James Ballantyne, for T[homas] Cadell Jun. and W[illiam] Davies, […]; and sold by Manners and Miller, and A[rchibald] Constable, […], →OCLC, 1st part (Historical Ballads), page 67:
Hys hart is to hy to haue any hap; / But for in his gamut carp that he can, / Lo, Jak wold be a jentylman! a. 1530 (date written), John Skelton, “Against a Comely Coystrowne, that Curyowsly Chawntyd, and Curryshly Cowntred, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 15, lines 12–14:
(obsolete, transitive) To say or tell (something).
(obsolete, transitive) To find fault with (someone or something); to censure, to criticize.
Albeit I doe knovve they [the speeches] vvill lie open to the cenſure of the youth of our time, vvho for the moſt part, are ſo over-gulled vvith ſelf-liking, that they are more then giddy in admiring themſelves, and carping vvhatſoever hath beene done or ſaide heeretofore, Nevertheleſſe I hope that all are not of one humour, and doubt not, but that there is diverſitie of taſtes, as vvas among Horaces gueſts; […] 1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Grave Speeches, and Wittie Apothegmes of Woorthie Personages of This Realme in Former Times”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 177:
[W]hen I ſpoke, / My honeſt homely vvords vvere carp'd, and cenſur'd, / For vvant of Courtly ſtile: […] 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 104:
fi sättiä (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · bg мърморя (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · mk се бу́ни (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · sv gnata (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · pt resmungar (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · fr maugréer (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · is gagnrýna (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · pl utyskiwać (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · is gagnrýna smugulega (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · eo kritikaĉi (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · pl zrzędzić (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · bg опявам (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · is finna að (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · is kvarta (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · is vera með sparðatíning (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons) · mk приго́вара (to complain or criticize about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons)