carp1
- to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably; be niggling in criticizing; cavil: to carp at minor errors.
- a peevish complaint.
Origin of carp1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words
nag, quibbler, caviler, scold, nitpicker, niggler, nagger, caviller, faultfinder, criticizer, castigatorExamples from the Web for carper
Contemporary Examples
“Part of our responsibility is to vet nominees, not to kill nominees, not to hold them forever,” Carper said.
The IG office opened the investigation last September based on a referral from the FBI, but its progress is unclear, Carper said.
Carper described Allen as a “very fine person” and said either Lute or Allen would be fine.
Carper said Lute would get through the Senate quickly and easily.
“I think Jane Holl Lute would be a terrific candidate, and I urge the president to consider her,” Carper said.
Historical Examples
I damned every Carper into fiddlestrings from old Adam to old Columbus.
Dwellers in the HillsMelville Davisson Post
There has never been an age that has not had its carper to tell you of the wonders that once were.
Pike & CutlassGeorge Gibbs
A carper might have said that Eddy was the least bit vague on the subject of the dear old days.
The Man UpstairsP. G. Wodehouse
But she was civil even as she sighed, and he would have been a carper who complained.
The PresidentAlfred Henry Lewis
After the Carper lease expired without renewal, the caretakers left.
Salona, Fairfax County, VirginiaEllen Anderson
carp1
- (intr often foll by at) to complain or find fault; nag pettily
Word Origin
carp2
- a freshwater teleost food fish, Cyprinus carpio, having a body covered with cycloid scales, a naked head, one long dorsal fin, and two barbels on each side of the mouth: family Cyprinidae
- any other fish of the family Cyprinidae; a cyprinid
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for carper
n.
mid-15c., "talker," agent noun from carp (v.).
carp
n.
type of freshwater fish, late 14c., from Old French carpe "carp" (13c.) and directly from Vulgar Latin carpa (source also of Italian carpa, Spanish carpa), from a Germanic source (cf. Middle Dutch carpe, Dutch karper, Old High German karpfo, German Karpfen "carp"); possibly the immediate source is Gothic *karpa. A Danube fish (hence the proposed East Germanic origin of its name), introduced in English ponds 14c. Lithuanian karpis, Russian karp are Germanic loan words.
carp
v.
"complain," early 13c., originally "to talk," from Old Norse karpa "to brag," of unknown origin; meaning turned toward "find fault with" (late 14c.), probably by influence of Latin carpere "to slander, revile," literally "to pluck" (see harvest (n.)). Related: Carped; carping.