Etymology

carnassial

C3A1R1N1A1S1S1I1A1L1

Today it means: One of the teeth used by a carnivore for shearing flesh, being the last upper premolar and the first lower molar. Full definition →

Occitan carnassa ← Latin carn-
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcarn-
  2. Occitan · derived fromcarnassa
  3. English todaycarnassial

From French carnass(ier) (“carnivorous”) + -ial, from Occitan carnassa, from carn + -assa (feminine form of Occitan -às), from Latin carn- + -āceus.

Words from the same roots

Latincarn- all →

carnitine

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.