n. 1. A merry-go-round, as one at an amusement park. 2. A circular conveyor on which objects are displayed or rotated: a baggage carousel in an airport. 3. A tournament in which knights or horsemen engaged in various exercises and races. [French carrousel, tilting match, carousel, from Middle French, tilting match, from Neapolitan carusiello, from carusare, to shear, shave, clip, possibly from a blend of Vulgar Latin *tōsāre (from earlier *tōnsāre, frequentative of Latin tondēre, to shear; see TONSURE) and a dialectal (peninsular Italian) form of Greek keiren, kar-, to cut short, shear; see sker-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.