carnival

UK: /ˈkɑː^rnɪv^əl/ US: /ˈkɑrnəvəl/ ,(kär′nə vəl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

car•ni•val /ˈkɑrnəvəl/   n. 

1. [countable] a traveling amusement show having games, rides, etc.
2. [countable] a festival:
   a winter carnival.
3. the season preceding Lent:
   [uncountable] We went to Brazil for carnival.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

car•ni•val  (kär′nə vəl), n. 

1. a traveling amusement show, having sideshows, rides, etc.
2. any merrymaking, revelry, or festival, as a program of sports or entertainment:
   a winter carnival.
3. the season immediately preceding Lent, often observed with merrymaking;
   Shrovetide.

• Latin levāre to lift
• Latin carnem, accusative of caro) + levare
• Italian carnevale, Old Italian carnelevare taking meat away, equivalent. to carne flesh (
• 1540–50

car′ni•val•esque′, car′ni•val•like′, adj. 
Synonyms

• 2. fair, celebration, fete, holiday.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

carnival / ˈkɑːnɪv^əl/ noun

1. a festive occasion or period marked by merrymaking, processions, etc: esp in some Roman Catholic countries, the period just before Lent
2. (as modifier): a carnival atmosphere
3. a travelling fair having merry-go-rounds, etc
4. a show or display arranged as an amusement
5. a sports meeting

Etymology: 16th Century: from Italian carnevale, from Old Italian carnelevare a removing of meat (referring to the Lenten fast)