carrion

English

Etymology

Old French caroigne, from Latin caro (“flesh”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

carrion (usually uncountable; plural carrions)

1. Dead flesh; carcasses.

   Vultures feed on carrion.

   • Spenser

     They did eat the dead carrions.

   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room, Vintage Classics, paperback edition, page 119

     Perhaps the Purple Emperor is feasting, as Morris says, upon a mass of putrid carrion at the base of an oak tree.

2. (obsolete, derogatory) A contemptible or worthless person.
   • Shakespeare

     Old feeble carrions.

Translations

dead flesh; carcasses

• Armenian: լեշ (hy) (leš), գեշ (hy) (geš)
• Bulgarian: мърша (bg) (mǎrša) f, леш (bg) (leš) m
• Czech: mršina (cs) f, zdechlina (cs) f
• Finnish: haaska (fi), raato (fi)
• French: charogne (fr) f
• German: Aas (de) n, Kadaver (de) m
• Greek: θνησιμαίο (el) (thnisimaío) n, κουφάρι (el) (koufári) n, ψοφίμι (el) (psofími) n
• Italian: carogna (it) f
• Japanese: 骸 (ja) (mukuro)

• Latvian: maita (lv) f
• Maori: pera (mi)
• Polish: padlina (pl) f
• Portuguese: carniça (pt) f
• Russian: падаль (ru) (pádal') f, мертвечина (ru) (m'ertv'ečína) f
• Slovak: zdochlina (sk) f
• Slovene: mrhovina (sl) f
• Spanish: carroña (es) f
• Swedish: as (sv) n, kadaver (sv) n
• Turkish: leş (tr)
• Volapük: nimafun (vo)

Related terms

• carrion beetle
• carrion crow