carpenter

Etymology

From Middle English carpenter, from Anglo-Norman carpenter (compare Old French charpentier), from Late Latin carpentārius (“a carpenter”), from Latin carpentārius (“a wagon-maker, carriage-maker”), from Latin carpentum (“a two-wheeled carriage, coach, or chariot, a cart”), from Gaulish carbantos, from Proto-Celtic *karbantos (“chariot, war chariot”), probably related to Proto-Celtic *karros (“wagon”). More at car.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑː.pən.tə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑɹpəntɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)pəntə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: car‧pen‧ter

Noun

carpenter (plural carpenters)

1. A person skilled at carpentry, the trade of cutting and joining timber in order to construct buildings or other structures.
2. (nautical) A senior rating in ships responsible for all the woodwork onboard; in the days of sail, a warrant officer responsible for the hull, masts, spars and boats of a ship, and whose responsibility was to sound the well to see if the ship was making water.
3. A two-wheeled carriage

Verb

carpenter (third-person singular simple present carpenters, present participle carpentering, simple past and past participle carpentered)

1. to work as a carpenter

Further reading

• carpenter in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• carpenter in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• carpenter at OneLook Dictionary Search

Noun

carpenter (plural carpenters)

1. carpenter

Noun

carpenter m (oblique plural carpenters, nominative singular carpenters, nominative plural carpenter)

1. Alternative form of charpantier
   • circa 1155, Wace, Le Roman de Brut:

     Maçons fist querre et carpenters
     Si fist refaire les mousters

     He searched for masons and carpenters
     in order to rebuild the minsters.