Carcass

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɑɹkəs/

Definitions

1. The dead body of an animal, especially one that has been slaughtered for food or left to decay
2. The remains of a deceased animal, particularly one that has been killed for consumption or is in a state of decomposition
3. A lifeless body of an animal, often referring to flesh used for food or which is abandoned after death

Etymology: The Middle Persian word for "vulture" was "klkʾs," pronounced roughly "kargās," and it lies behind the English word "carcass." The Avestan form "kahrkās" also meant vulture, and the Persian "karkas" carried the same sense into later centuries. How the bird's name travelled from Iran to the Anglo-Norman world is not fully traced, but the link between the two meanings is clear: a vulture is a bird that feeds on dead bodies. In the late 13th century the word entered English from Anglo-Norman "carcois," which may be related to Old French "charcois," and it is a relative of French "carcasse." Its first English sense was the body of a dead animal, and that remains its core meaning. The bird-name origin survives only in the etymology, not in ordinary use.

Synonyms: corpse, remains, body, cadaver, skeleton

Antonyms: alive, living