carnaval

From Spanish carnaval, Portuguese carnaval. Doublet of carnival.

• IPA^(key): /kɑɹnəˈvɑl/

carnaval (countable and uncountable, plural carnavals)

1. One of various large carnivals held before the beginning of Lent, especially in Latin America.

carnaval (plural carnavals)

1. Obsolete spelling of carnival.

Borrowed from Italian carnevale.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kər.nəˈβal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kər.nəˈval]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaɾ.naˈval]

carnaval m (plural carnavals)

1. carnival (festival held just before Lent)

   Synonym: (in the Catalan Countries) carnestoltes

• “carnaval”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from French carnaval, either from Italian carnivale, from Medieval Latin carnelevale, from carnem (“flesh”) + levāre (“lighten, raise”). The alternative carnem vale (“flesh farewell”) is a folk etymology.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑrnaːvɑl/, /kɑrnaːˈvɑl/, /-nə-/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: car‧na‧val

carnaval n (plural carnavals, diminutive carnavalletje n)

1. the carnival, last festive occasion(s) before Lent, notably on Shrove Tuesday
2. (within the southern Netherlands and Belgium, specifically) a festival celebrated with costuming, parades and other festivities, with a general emphasis on parody, jest and local tradition and dialect

• (in some areas) vastenavond

• alaaf
• hossen

• → Indonesian: karnaval

Either from Italian carnevale, from Medieval Latin carnelevale, from caro (“flesh”) + levo (“to lighten, to raise”), or directly from Medieval Latin.

The alternative carne vale (“to flesh/meat, farewell”) is believed to be a folk etymology.

• IPA^(key): /kaʁ.na.val/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Homophone: carnavals

carnaval m (plural carnavals)

1. the carnival, last festive occasion before Lent, notably on Shrove Tuesday, marked by a masked parade and/or ball

• carnavalesque
• carnavaleux
• carnavalier
• carnavaliser

• → Russian: карнава́л (karnavál)
  • → Kazakh: карнавал (karnaval)
• → Turkish: karnaval

• “carnaval”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

See Carnaval.

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -aw, (Portugal) -al
• Hyphenation: car‧na‧val
• Homophone: Carnaval

carnaval m (plural carnavais)

1. carnival celebrations

   O carnaval de Salvador é o melhor do Brasil. ― Salvador’s carnival celebration is the best in Brazil.

2. (figurative) merriment, revelry

   Synonyms: farra, folia

3. pre-reform spelling (used until 1990 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal) of Carnaval; may still occur as a sporadic misspelling

The capitalized spelling Carnaval is used when referring to the festive period. See more in the usage notes for that entry.

• “carnaval”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “carnaval”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French carnaval.

carnaval n (plural carnavaluri)

1. carnival

Borrowed from Italian carnevale.

• IPA^(key): /kaɾnaˈbal/ [kaɾ.naˈβ̞al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: car‧na‧val

carnaval m (plural carnavales)

1. carnival (festival held just before Lent)

• “carnaval”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025