Carcass
/ˈkɑːr.kəs/noun
The dead body of an animal, especially one prepared for butchering or decomposition.
Did you know?The word entered English through Old French, where it already meant a dead body or skeleton, and it likely traces back to a Latin term for a frame or skeleton rather than a purely “English” horror word.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut or separate”
Latin
Latin
caro, carnis
“flesh”
Late Latin
Latin
carcassa
“a skeleton, carcass”
Old French
Old French
carcasse
“a dead body, skeleton, frame”
Middle English
English
carcas
“a dead body, especially of an animal”
Modern English
English
carcass
“the dead body of an animal”