Carnivora
|car-ni-vo-ra|
🇺🇸
/kɑrˈnɪvərə/
🇬🇧
/kɑːˈnɪvərə/
flesh-eating mammal order
Etymology
'Carnivora' originates from New Latin, specifically from the Latin word 'carnivorus', where 'carni-' (from Latin 'caro, carnis') meant 'flesh' and 'vorare' meant 'to devour'.
'Carnivora' changed from the Latin adjective 'carnivorus' and was adopted in New Latin as a formal scientific name for the mammalian order 'Carnivora' used in modern zoological classification.
Initially it meant 'flesh-eating' (describing diet), but over time it evolved into a technical term denoting the taxonomic order of mammals that includes many flesh-eating species.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a taxonomic order of mammals (order Carnivora) that includes species traditionally adapted to eating flesh, such as cats, dogs, bears, weasels, and seals; a major grouping in mammalian classification.
Carnivora includes felids (cats), canids (dogs), ursids (bears), mustelids (weasels), and pinnipeds (seals).
Synonyms
Noun 2
a carnivoran: an individual member (species or specimen) of the order Carnivora. (This is a related noun derived from the base form 'Carnivora'.)
The red fox is a carnivoran found throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
carnivorous: feeding on the flesh of animals. (Adjectival form related to the base 'Carnivora'.)
Many carnivorous species hunt actively for prey.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/13 16:11