Jump to:

• carrel
  carrel

  noun

  a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.
• Carrel
  Carrel

  noun

  Alexis 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905–39: Nobel Prize 1912.

carrel

¹ American  

[kar-uhl] / ˈkær əl /

Or carrell

noun

1. Also called cubicle, stall.  a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.

2. a table or desk with three sides extending above the writing surface to serve as partitions, designed for individual study, as in a library.

---

Carrel ² American  

[kuh-rel, kar-uhl, ka-rel] / kəˈrɛl, ˈkær əl, kaˈrɛl /

noun

1. Alexis 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905–39: Nobel Prize 1912.

---

Carrel ¹ British  

/ ˈkærəl, kəˈrɛl, karɛl /

noun

1. Alexis (əˈlɛksɪs; French alɛksi). 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, active in the US (1905–39): developed a method of suturing blood vessels, making the transplantation of arteries and organs possible: Nobel prize for physiology or medicine 1912

---

carrel ² British  

/ ˈkærəl /

noun

1. a small individual study room or private desk, often in a library, where a student or researcher can work undisturbed

---

Etymology

Origin of carrel

1585–95; variant spelling of carol enclosure

Explanation

A carrel is a cozy, private work area usually found in a library. When you have a long paper to write, you might want to settle into a carrel with your books and laptop. A carrel is a cubicle or alcove which contains a desk and chair, and sometimes a shelf and electric outlets. Carrels are perfect study spots for college students, but anyone who uses a library can sit in a carrel to read or write. The word comes from the Medieval Latin carula, "small study in a cloister," possibly from a Latin root word meaning "ring."

Example Sentences

John was old enough to climb out, but Witcher put Delia in the carrel and gave John a book.

From Washington Post • Jan. 29, 2022

He shares his remote refuge, a forgotten carrel on the 9th floor, with a woman with a distinct resemblance to Ozeki herself.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2021

When I left my carrel that last day I gave the window a high-five.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2018

I sat in a remote study carrel in the library’s stacks, next to a narrow, dim window with an interior view, and idled through the brittle pages in bound volumes.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 16, 2015

There were nights that she told him she was at her carrel in the library when really she’d met Astrid and her baby, Esme, in SoHo, or gone for a walk by herself.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• box
• corner
• counter
• cubicle
• hut
• pew
• stall