carnival : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: carnival	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for carnival
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
carnival n a festival marked by merrymaking and processions a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment; "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere" Synonym(s): circus, carnival a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc. Synonym(s): carnival, fair, funfair
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Carnival \Car"nival\, n. [It. carnevale, prob. for older carnelevale, prop., the putting away of meat; fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh + levare to take away, lift up, fr. levis light.] 1. A festival celebrated with merriment and revelry in Roman Gatholic countries during the week before Lent, esp. at Rome and Naples, during a few days (three to ten) before Lent, ending with Shrove Tuesday. The carnival* at Venice is everywhere talked of. --Addison. 2. Any merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading, especially when overstepping the bounds of decorum; a time of riotous excess. --Tennyson. He saw the lean dogs beneath the wall Hold o'er the dead their carnival --Byron.