Carry

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkæ.ɹi/

Definitions

1. To hold and transport something from one place to another, or to support the weight of an object or person while moving
2. To bear the load of an object while moving it from one location to another, or to convey information verbally or through actions
3. To transport items or persons by holding them in one's possession, or to express thoughts and ideas through communication

Etymology: The verb "carry" is built on a vehicle. Its ancestor is Latin "carrus", a four-wheeled wagon used for hauling baggage, and the word is generally thought to have come into Latin from Gaulish, the Celtic language of pre-Roman Gaul. Hauling things in a wagon was the original idea, and the verb grew out of that picture of loading goods onto a cart and moving them along. The word reached English through Anglo-Norman "carier", the form of Old French "charrier" (modern French "charrier", "to cart"), and entered Middle English as "carien". Its earliest sense was thus the concrete one of conveying goods by cart, and the more general sense of holding something and moving it came later as the idea of transport was stretched to cover anything a person could bear along. English has a near-homonym that complicates things. Middle English "cairen", meaning "to go" or "bring", gave Modern English "cair", and the two verbs were confused with one another, so the older meanings of "cair" sometimes blurred into those of "carry".

Synonyms: transport, bear, lodge, convey, hold

Antonyms: drop, release, unload, abandon, leave