English Explanatory Dictionary

carrot

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A vegetable with a nutritious, juicy, sweet root that is often orange in colour, Daucus carota, family Apiaceae, especially the subspecies sativus.
  2. A shade of orange similar to the flesh of most carrots (also called carrot orange).
  3. Any motivational tool; an incentive to do something.
  4. Someone from a rural background.
  5. A police officer from somewhere within the British Isles, but specifically outside of Greater London.
  6. A redhead; a ginger-haired person
verb
  1. To treat (an animal pelt) with a solution of mercuric nitrate as part of felt manufacture.

Pronunciation

kâr'ət /ˈkæɹət/ en-us-ne-carrot.ogg kĕr'ət /ˈkɛɹət/ en-us-carrot.ogg

Word forms

carrot carrots carroting carroted

Etymology

From 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.

Synonyms

more

Related words

Queen Anne's lace secretage

Derived words

baby carrot baby-cut carrot Camberwell carrot carotane carotene carrot and stick carrot-and-stick carrot bacon carrot bag carrot beetle carrot cake carrot cruncher carrot dog carroter carrot fly carrotish carrotless carrotlike carrot-nosed carrot rust fly carrot-top carrot top carrot-topped carrot weevil carrotwood carroty cry carrots and turnips cuff the carrot deadly carrot like peas and carrots moon carrot rainbow carrots stick and carrot stick-and-carrot white carrot wild carrot carroting
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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