carp 
In the United States, a carp-sucker ; a catos- 
tomoid fish of the subfamily Ictiobiiicc and ge- 
nus Carpiodes. Norwegian carp, a name of the Se- 
baxtex nittriniiK. Prussian carp, an English book-name 
of the Caraxxi"* rnl'iu,-ix ur iiilniiu. 
carpadelium (kar-pa-de'li-um), n. ; pi. carpa- 
di-lia (-a). [NL. (> F. carpadcle), < Gr. Kap-of, 
fruit, -f aSii/.oc, not manifest: see Adela.~\ In 
bot., same as cremocarp. 
carpal (kiir'pal), a. and n. [< NL. carpalis, < cur- 
IIHK, q. v.] I. . 1. Pertaining to the carpus or 
wrist. 2. In ciitoni., pertaining to the carpus or 
pterostigma of an insect's wing Carpal angle, 
in orltitfi., the bend of tin- u in;; ; the salience formed at the 
wrist-joint or carpus \\hen the wing is elosed. It is an 
important point in descriptive ornithology, sinee the regu- 
lar measurement, < -nllcd ''length of wing," or " the wing," 
is from the carpal almle to the end of tile longest quill- 
feather. Carpal ossicles. See ossicle. 
II. n. Any one of the bones of the wrist or 
carpus ; a carpale. 
carpale (kiir-pa'le), n. ; pi. carpalia (-li-ii). 
[NX., neut. of carpalis: see carpal."] 1. Any 
bone of the carpus or wrist. 2. A bone of the 
distal row of the carpus, articulating directly 
with the metacarpal bones. See carpus. 
Carpathian (kar-pa'thi-an), a. Pertaining to 
the range of mountains in the northern and 
eastern parts of the Austrian empire, called the 
Carpathians, forming the northern and north- 
eastern boundary of Hungary and inclosing 
Transylvania. 
carp-bream (kilrp'brem), . An English name 
of the bream when its color resembles that of 
the carp. Day. 
carpe diem (kiir'pe di'em). [L., seize the day: 
carpe, 2d pers. pres. impv. of carpere, seize (see 
carp^)', diem, ace. of dies, day: see dial.] En- 
joy the present day ; take advantage of, or make 
the most of, the present : a maxim of the Epi- 
cureans. 
carpel (kar'pel), n. [= F. carpellc, < NL. carpel- 
lit in, dim., < Or. 
/ca/OTOf, fruit: see 
carp 1 .} Into*., a 
simple pistil, or 
one of the sever- 
al members com- 
posing a com- 
pound pistil or 
fruit. In its most 
general sense it is 
that organ of a plant 
whieh bears ovules. 
A earpel is regarded 
as a modified leaf ; 
hence the term car- 
_ hyl, which has been proposed as a substitute. Also 
called carpid or carpidium. 
carpellary (kar'pe-la-ri), n. [< NL. carpcllum, 
carpel, + -ary 1 ; = F. carpellaire.] Belonging 
to or having some relation to a carpel. 
These structures, which may be called carpellary leaves, 
show their relationship to ordinary foliage leaves in hav- 
ing pinna) toward their summits. Betsey, Botany, p. 400. 
The carpellary leaves are the foliar structures of the 
flower which stand in the closest genetic and functional 
relationships to the ovules. They either produce and bear 
the ovules or are constructed so as to enclose them in a 
chamber. Sachs, Botany (trans.), p. 429. 
carpentt (kiir'pent), n. [ME. carpent, < L. car- 
pentum, a two-wheeled covered carriage, coach, 
or chariot, a cart, ML. also timber- or carpen- 
ter-work, framing (in this sense also carpenta, 
> F. charpente; cf. carpenter), prob. of Celtic 
origin; cf. Ir. and Gael, carbad, a carriage, 
chariot, litter, Ir. and OGael. carl), a basket, 
carriage, Ir. cairbh = Gael, cairb, a chariot, a 
ship; perhaps akin to L. corliis, a basket.] A 
cart. 
And for an acre lande, aaithe Columelle, 
Carpentes XXIIII is to telle. 
Palladium, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 179. 
carpentet, An erroneous form of carpet. 
Laye carpentes aboute the bedde, or wyndowes. 
Babeet Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 283. 
carpentedt (kiir'pen-ted), a. Carpeted. 
carpenter (kar'pen-ter), n. [< ME. carpenter, 
< OF. carpentier,"F. charpenticr = Pr. carpen- 
tier = Sp. carpintero = Pg. carpinteiro, < It. car- 
pentiere, < ML. carpentarius, a carpenter, L. 
a wagon-maker, carriage-maker, later also a 
coachman, prop, adj., pertaining to a carriage 
or cart, < L. carpentum, a two-wheeled carriage, 
coach, or chariot, a cart: see carpent.] 1. An 
artificer who works in timber ; one who exe- 
cutes by hand the woodwork of houses, ships, 
or similar constructions. The occupations of 
carpenter and joiner are often combined. See 
joiner. 2. An officer of a ship, whose duty it is 
to keep under supervision and maintain in order 
the frame of the ship and all the wooden fittings 
830 
about her. Carpenter's crew('.), aset of men em- 
ployed under tin- carpenUT. See ^. Car 
ployed under the carpenter. See i Carpenter's mate, 
a petty officer of a vessel of war who assists the carpenter. 
See '2. Carpenter's rule, a graduated scale with slides, 
used to measure timber and cast up the contents of car- 
penters' work. 
carpenter (kiir'pen-ter), r. i. [< carpenter, n.] 
To do carpenters' work ; practise carpentry. 
He varnished, lie fn/-j>cnteretl, he glned. 
Jane Austen, Persuasion, xi. 
Mr. (irimwig plants, fishes, and carpenters with great 
ardour. Diekens, Oliver Twist, liii. 
carpenter-bee (kar'pen-ter-be), . The com- 
mon name of the different species of hymeuop- 
terous insects 
of the genus 
XylOCOpH. One 
species. A", rlnln- 
cea, inhabits the 
south of Knrope ; 
in Asia, Africa, 
and America the 
species are nu- 
merous. They re- 
semble common 
bumblebees in 
general appear- 
ance. They usu- 
ally form their 
nests in pieces of 
half-rotten wood, 
cutting out vari- 
ous apartments 
for depositing 
their eggs. They Carpenter-bee (Xylacofa violacea),* 
have sharp-point- natural size, 
ed triangular (J| a piece of wood bored by the bee. showing 
mandibles, well grubs and food deposited in the cells ; t, two 
adapted to bore cells on larger scale. 
holes in wood. 
carpentering (kiir'pen-ter-ing), n. [< carpen- 
ter + -iniy 1 .] The employment or work of a 
carpenter; carpentry. 
carpenter-moth (kar'pen-ter-m&th), n. A 
name given to certain large bombycid moths 
of the subfamily Cossina:. The larva; are wood- 
borers, and often do great damage to forest-trees. The 
larvaofthelocustcarpenter-moth, A"t/(etero&i)iu(Peck), 
b 
Carpels. 
a, flower of Actaa, with simple pistil ; 
A, tricarpcllary fruit of aconite. 
Male Locust C.irpenter-moth {Xyletttes robinia], natural size. 
bores into the wood of the locust-tree, Rnbinia. It re- 
mains in the larval state three years, and attains a length 
of 2A inches. It transforms to a pupa within a silk-lined 
cell in its burrow, and issues as a moth in the spring and 
summer. The European carpenter-moths are called goat- 
moths by English writers, on account of their character- 
istic odor. 
carpenter's-herb (kar'pen-terz-erb), n. The 
plant allheal, Prunella tulgaris. its corolla when 
seen in profile resembles a bill-hook, and, in accordance 
with the doctrine of signatures, the plant was believed to 
heal wounds from edged tools. 
carpentry (kiir'pen-tri), n. [< ME. carpcittrie, 
-taryc, < OF. carpenterie, F. charpenteric = Pr. 
Carpentaria = Sp. carpcnteria, carpinteria = Pg. 
Carpentaria = It. carpcnteria, < ML. Carpenta- 
ria, a carpenter-shop, L. a carriage-maker's 
shop, prop. fern, of carpentarius, pertaining to 
a carnage or cart: see carpenter.'] 1. The art 
of cutting, framing, and joining the timbers or 
woodwork of buildings and similar construc- 
tions by means of hand-tools. 
Idealism is a hypothesis to account for nature by other 
principles than those of carpentry and chemistry. 
Emerson, Misc., p. 56. 
2. Carpenters' work; any work of the kind done 
by carpenters. 
A handsome, panelled door, the most finished piece of 
carpentry in Silverado. 
R. L. Stevengon, Silverado Squatters, p. 145. 
carper (kar'per), n. [ME. carpare, a talker; 
< carp 1 + -er 1 .] If. A talker. 2. One who 
carps ; a ca viler. Shak. 
The carpers against feminine eccentricity. 
Philadelphia Telegraph, XL. 1. 
carpet (kiir'pet), n. [ME. carpette, < OF. car- 
pite, a carpet, a sort of cloth, F. carpette, a rug, 
= Sp. carpeta, a table-cover, = It. carpita, a 
rug, < ML. carpita, carpeta, a kind of thick 
woolen cloth, cf . carpia (> It. carpia = F. char- 
pie (> E. charpie) = G. scharpie}, lint, < L. car- 
pere, pluck, pull in pieces: see cor/A.] 1. A 
thick fabric, usually woven of wool, or of wool 
on a linen ground or back, and in more or less 
ornamental designs, used for covering floors, 
stairs, etc. Formerly the carpet (usually in a single 
carpet-bagger 
piece, like the 1'ersian carpet) was also used (as it still is in 
the East) for cu\eriim beds, couches, tables, etc., and for 
hangings. (See t/r/>i'*f ,->/.) The lirst woven carpets were pro- 
duced in Kgypt, liabylonia, Persia, and Hindustan, whence 
they were introduced into Eun >pe, where they are supposed 
to have been first manufactured by the French in the reign 
of Henry IV., and next in England, at Mortlake in Sur- 
rey, in the reign of James I. The smaller carpets of the 
East are now commonly called rugs. See rug. 
Wyndowes tfc cupbordes layde with carpettetr and cnys- 
shyns. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 283. 
Cast on a feather-bed, and spread on the sheets 
Under a brace of your best Persian carpets. 
B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, iv. 2. 
A Carpet to cover the Table. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
2. Especially, a covering of this material for a 
floor or stair, made of several widths sewed to- 
gether and intended to cover all the floor-space 
of a room, as distinguished from a rug, which 
is usually woven in one piece of a definite shape 
(either oblong or square), and is designed to 
cover a part of the floor only. 
Take care my house be handsome, 
And the new stools set out, and boughs and rushes, 
And (lowers for the window, and the Turkey carpet. 
Bean, and Ft., Coxcomb, iv. 3. 
3. Figuratively, anything used as a carpet, or 
serving the purpose of a carpet. 
The grassy carpet of this plain. Shak., Eich. II., iii. 3. 
To cover the wet earth with a thick carpet of fern. 
Macaiday. 
Aubusson carpet, a carpet made at Aubusson in France. 
It is made in one piece, in the hand or needlework style 
of the Indian carpets, and is highly esteemed for the ele- 
gance of its designs and coloring. Axminster carpet, 
a variety of Turkish carpet with a chain of flax or jute, and 
a woolen or worsted filling made into a pile : so named from 
the town of Axminster in Devonshire, England, where it 
was formerly manufactured. Brussels carpet, a carpet 
of a kind originally made in Brussels, having a heavy linen 
web inclosing worsted yarns of different colors, which are 
raised in loops to form the pattern. In the ordinary Brus- 
sels carpet both the pattern and the ground are left with 
the loops uncut; in the imperial Brussels carpet the pat- 
tern is raised above the ground, and its loops are cut so 
as to form a pile, those of the ground being uncut. Che- 
nille carpet, a carpet in which the weft is of chenille in- 
stead of yarn. The pattern is dyed in the chenille itself, 
nothing showing at the surface of the carpet but the ends 
of the chenille fringe. Felt carpet, a carpet in which 
the fibers are matted or felted together without spinning 
orweaving. Ingrain carpet, acarpet made of wool dyed 
in the grain, or oefore it is manufactured. It is called 
Scotch or (in England) Ki'li/n'minxtrr, from the place 
where it is made, and tim-ply or three-ply, according to the 
number of webs composing the fabric. Paper carpet, a 
floor-covering (plain or in imitation of ornamental woods) 
made of a hard and tenacious paper called hession, which 
is made by subjecting the paper-pulp to the action of chlo- 
rid of zinc and then to strong pressure, by which means 
the product is rendered hard and tough like leather- 
Persian carpet, a carpet made in one piece, instead of 
in breadths or strips to be joined. The warp and weft are 
of linen or hemp, and the tiifts of colored wool are inserted 
by twisting them around the warp all along the row ac- 
cording to the wearer's taste, no pattern being used. A 
line of tufts being inserted, a shoot of the weft is made, and 
then beaten np to close the fabric. Pile carpet, a carpet 
made in the same way as Brussels carpet, but having its 
loops cut, thus forming a pile or soft surface Printed 
carpet, a carpet dyed or printed in colors ; it is either 
woven in undyed colors and printed like calico, or the 
yarn is dyed in sections, which are adjusted according to 
their future position in the fabric. Scotch carpet. Same 
as ingrain carpet. To b6 OH the carpet (more common- 
ly on the tapis: see below), literally, to be on the table- 
cloth or table, as for consideration ; hence, to lie under 
discussion ; be the subject of deliberation or of intended 
action : a translation of the French phrase ttre svr le tapis 
(tapis, table-cloth, carpet, etc. : see tapestry). Turkish 
or Turkey carpet, a carpet similar to the Persian, dis- 
tinguished by the selection of the tufts of colored wool 
according to the pattern followed, and the manner of their 
attachment to the back. The cutting of the yarn gives it 
the appearance of velvet. Venetian carpet, a carpet 
with a warp or chain of worsted, generally arranged in 
different-colored stripes. Wilton carpet, a variety of 
Brussels carpet in which the loops are cut open into an 
elastic velvet pile : so named from being made originally 
at Wilton in England. 
carpet (kiir'pet), v. t. [< carpet, n."] 1. To 
cover with or as with a carpet; spread with 
carpets: as, to carpet a room. 2. To bring 
upon the carpet or under consideration; make 
a subject of investigation ; hence, to reprimand ; 
"haul over the coals." 
carpet-bag (kar'pet-bag), n. and a. I. n. A 
traveling-bag made of carpeting on a frame; 
hence, by extension, a traveling-bag of any 
kind similarly formed. 
II. . Of or characteristic of carpet-baggers : 
as, carpet-lag government; carpet-bag politics. 
[U. S. slang.] 
carpet-bag (kar'pet-bag), v. i. [< carpet-bag- 
ger.'] To act or live in the manner of a carpet- 
bagger. [U. S. slang.] 
carpet-bagger (kar'pet-bag"er), n. One who 
travels with a carpet-bag; specifically, a person 
who takes up his residence in a place, with no 
more property than he brings in a carpet-bag, 
with a view of making his way by enterprise. 
