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definitions

carrel

or car·rell

[kar-uh l]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR carrel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called cubicle, stall. a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.
a table or desk with three sides extending above the writing surface to serve as partitions, designed for individual study, as in a library.

Origin of carrel

1585–95; variant spelling of carol enclosure

Carrel

[kuh-rel, kar-uh l; French ka-rel]

noun

A·lex·is [uh-lek-sis; French a-lek-see] /əˈlɛk sɪs; French a lɛkˈsi/, 1873–1944, French surgeon and biologist, in U.S. 1905–39: Nobel Prize 1912.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for carrel

box, counter, pew, hut, stall, corner, cubicle, slot, alcove, locker, cell, chamber, carriage, niche, recess, section, nook, pocket, cranny, place

Examples from the Web for carrel

Historical Examples of carrel

  • Girardin asked Carrel to wait until he also could have a friend present.

    Old and New Paris, v. 1

    Henry Sutherland Edwards

  • Sir, replied Carrel, I can never regard a duel as a bonne fortune.

    Old and New Paris, v. 1

    Henry Sutherland Edwards

  • Carrel made the fire, boiled the water, and prepared our coffee.

  • She used to sit at Carrel's, and during the pose she would sing.

    Trilby

    George Du Maurier

  • Carrel placed a chair for her before the table and resumed his own.

    A Bed of Roses

    W. L. George

British Dictionary definitions for carrel

carrel

carrell

noun

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

Word Origin for carrel

C16: a variant of carol

Carrel

noun

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
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 carrel
n.

1590s, "study in a cloister," from Medieval Latin carula "small study in a cloister," of unknown origin; perhaps from Latin corolla "little crown, garland," used in various senses of "ring" (e.g. of Stonehenge: "þis Bretons renged about þe feld, þe karole of þe stones beheld," 1330); extended to precincts and spaces enclosed by rails, etc. Specific sense of "private cubicle in a library" is from 1919.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
carrel in Medicine

Carrel

[kə-rĕl′, kăr′əl]Alexis 1873-1944

French-born American surgeon and biologist. He won a 1912 Nobel Prize for his work on vascular ligature and grafting of blood vessels and organs.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.