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• 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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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

But after weeks in the class, helping one another with Newton’s laws, friction and simple harmonic motion, they’d started to feel as if they shared the same carrel in the library.

From Time • Oct. 18, 2012

She finishes Scott-Moncrieff’s English translation within days, reading it at her desk in the department, and in her carrel in the library.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

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