Carrion
/ˈkæriən/noun
The decaying flesh of dead animals.
Did you know?*Carrion* entered English through Old French, and its older forms are tied to words for carcass and dead flesh, which is why the term feels so viscerally close to death itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut”
Latin
Latin
caro, carnis
“flesh”
Late Latin
Latin
carōnia
“fleshy remains, carcass”
Old French
Old French
caroine
“dead body, carrion”
Middle English
English
caroyne
“dead flesh, carcass”
Modern English
English
carrion
“decaying flesh of dead animals”