Shrove/Carnival #etymology

The period of Lent, a time of solemn self-denial and fasting in the Christian calendar leading up to Easter, is preceded by the day of exuberant celebration known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, or simply Carnival. The word carnival probably literally means “flesh-raising” or in other words the “removal of meat” because during Lent meat is one of those lavish foods often given up. So Carnival or Fat Tuesday is the last chance to enjoy meat (think carnivore) and fatty foods for a while. There was a medieval folk etymology that carnival meant “flesh farewell” from Latin vale “goodbye”, but in fact the etymons in question are actually Latin caro “flesh”, originally a “piece of flesh” and levare “to lift up, raise, elevate”. The first element caro goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- meaning “to cut”, hence that meaning of “piece of flesh”. This root also has the extended form *skribh- “to cut, separate, sift” which came into Latin as scribere “to write” from the idea of carving letters into stone, etc., and was borrowed into Proto-Germanic as *skriban, becoming Old English scrifan “assign, prescribe; impose penance, hear confession” and becoming later English shrive “to hear confession and give penance and absolution” and its past tense shrove, as in Shrove Tuesday. So don’t forget to cut up your pancakes!