Carpathia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The British passenger liner that responded to the Titanic's distress call in 1912 and rescued over 700 survivors from lifeboats in the North Atlantic
2. A Cunard steamship famous for reaching the scene of the Titanic disaster and picking up the remaining passengers and crew in lifeboats
3. The rescue vessel that came to the aid of Titanic survivors, arriving at the wreck site in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912

Etymology: The name belongs to the mountain arc that curves across central and eastern Europe. Roman writers knew the range as "Carpates," a form recorded by Pliny the Elder. Its ultimate source is uncertain. Some scholars link it to a Dacian or Thracian tribal name, and others have suggested a connection with the Aegean island "Karpathos," though neither link is proven. Most English speakers meet the name through a ship. The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia answered the distress calls from the sinking Titanic and picked up its survivors. The vessel took its name from the mountains, so a Roman word for a European range became attached to one of the most famous rescues at sea.