Caryon
/ˈkær.i.ən/noun
An obsolete spelling of carrion, meaning the decaying flesh of a dead animal.
Did you know?Caryon is an archaic form of carrion, whose deeper history is connected with Latin caro, “flesh,” a root also preserved in words such as carnivore and incarnation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“A reconstructed root meaning “to cut,” often proposed as the source of Latin words for flesh.”
Classical Latin
Latin
caro, carnis
“Flesh or meat; the genitive form carnis supplied the stem used in later compounds.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
caronia
“Carrion or the flesh of a dead animal, a later derivative associated with caro, “flesh.””
12th–13th Century
Old French
charoigne / caroigne
“Carrion, especially the decaying flesh of a dead animal.”
Middle English
English
caryon
“An early or variant spelling of carrion.”
Modern English
English
carrion
“The decaying flesh of a dead animal, often used as food by scavengers.”