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carpenter

[ kahr-puh n-ter ]
/ ˈkɑr pən tər /
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noun

a person who builds or repairs wooden structures, as houses, scaffolds, or shelving.

verb (used without object)

to do carpenter's work.

verb (used with object)

to make by carpentry.
to construct (a plot, scene, article, or the like) in a mechanical or unoriginal fashion.

RELATED WORDS

laborer, builder, worker, artisan, woodworker, cabinetmaker, chips, joiner, mason, craftsperson

Nearby words

  1. carpel,
  2. carpellary,
  3. carpellate,
  4. carpentaria,
  5. carpentaria, gulf of,
  6. carpenter ant,
  7. carpenter bee,
  8. carpenter gothic,
  9. carpenter moth,
  10. carpenter's syndrome

Origin of carpenter

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French < Late Latin carpentārius wainwright, equivalent to Latin carpent(um) two-wheeled carriage (< Celtic; compare Old Irish carpad chariot) + -ārius -ary; see -er2
Related formsun·car·pen·tered, adjective

Definition for carpenter (2 of 2)

Carpenter

[ kahr-puh n-ter ]
/ ˈkɑr pən tər /

noun

John Alden,1876–1951, U.S. composer.
(Malcolm) Scott,1925–2013, U.S. astronaut and oceanographer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carpenter

British Dictionary definitions for carpenter (1 of 2)

carpenter

/ (ˈkɑːpɪntə) /

noun

a person skilled in woodwork, esp in buildings, ships, etc

verb

(intr) to do the work of a carpenter
(tr) to make or fit together by or as if by carpentry

Word Origin for carpenter

C14: from Anglo-French, from Latin carpentārius wagon-maker, from carpentum wagon; of Celtic origin

British Dictionary definitions for carpenter (2 of 2)

Carpenter

/ (ˈkɑːpɪntə) /

noun

John Alden. 1876–1951, US composer, who used jazz rhythms in orchestral music: his works include the ballet Skyscrapers (1926) and the orchestral suite Adventures in a Perambulator (1915)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for carpenter

carpenter

n.

"wood-worker," c.1300 (attested from early 12c. as a surname), from Anglo-French carpenter, Old North French carpentier (Old French and Modern French charpentier), from Late Latin (artifex) carpentarius "wagon (maker)," from Latin carpentum "wagon, two-wheeled carriage, cart," from Gaulish, from Old Celtic *carpentom (cf. Old Irish carpat, Gaelic carbad "carriage"), probably related to Gaulish karros (see car).

Also from the Late Latin word are Spanish carpentero, Italian carpentiero. Replaced Old English treowwyrhta, literally "tree-wright." German Zimmermann "carpenter" is from Old High German zimbarman, from zimbar "wood for building, timber," cognate with Old Norse timbr (see timber). First record of carpenter bee is from 1844.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper