Carmen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A musical composition or song typically characterized by emotional expression and lyrical content
2. A piece of vocal music, often accompanied, that conveys a specific story or theme through its melody and words
3. An artistic creation in the form of a song that may incorporate various musical styles and poetic elements

Etymology: Spelled this way, "carmen" is the plural of "carman," an old English word for a carter or wagon driver. That word is a plain compound: "car," a wheeled vehicle, plus "man." "Car" came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman "carre," which descends from Latin "carrus," a wagon that Latin had borrowed from Gaulish "karros." The artistic sense has a separate source. It comes from Latin "carmen," which meant a song, chant, or formal poem, and which was probably linked to "canere," to sing. English took the Latin word for this sense, so the two meanings share a spelling but not a history. The Latin word stayed close to its original sense of formal verse, which is why the English meaning still points to a song that blends poetic and musical elements.