Carve Meaning
/kɑɹv/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cut.
verbTo cut meat in order to serve it.
Sentence Examples
At times I confuse curve with carve.
At times I confuse "curve" with "carve".
He taught his sons how to carve wood.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Using a sharp knife, the chef began to ____ the roasted turkey into slices.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used a sharp knife to ____ a small bird out of a piece of wood.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *kerbaną Proto-West Germanic *kerban Old English ċeorfan Middle English kerven English carve From Middle English kerven, from Old English ceorfan, from Proto-West Germanic *kerban, from Proto-Germanic *kerbaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with West Frisian kerve, Dutch kerven, Low German karven, German kerben (“to notch”); also Old Prussian gīrbin (“number”), Old Church Slavonic жрѣбии (žrěbii, “lot, tallymark”), Ancient Greek γράφειν (gráphein, “to scratch, etch”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"My good blade carves the casques of men, / My tough lance thrusteth sure, / My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure."
— 1834 September (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “Sir Galahad”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 174:
"The facades of the buildings fronting upon the avenue within the wall were richly carven[…]."
— 1920, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Thuvia, Maiden of Mars, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008:
"The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now faded, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter I, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"[…] who could easily have carved themselves their own food."
— 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
"The Reds carved the first opening of the second period as Glen Johnson's pull-back found David Ngog but the Frenchman hooked wide from six yards."
— 2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Using a sharp knife, the chef began to ____ the roasted turkey into slices.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He used a sharp knife to ____ a small bird out of a piece of wood.