adjective
1.
characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding; querulous: carping criticism.
noun
2.
petty faultfinding.
00:10
Carping
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object)
1.
to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably; be niggling in criticizing; cavil: to carp at minor errors.
noun
2.
a peevish complaint.
Origin:
1200–50; Middle English carpen to speak, prate < Old Norse karpa to brag, wrangle
1200–50; Middle English carpen to speak, prate < Old Norse karpa to brag, wrangle
Related forms
carp·er, noun
Synonyms
1. criticize, deprecate, condemn, censure.
1. criticize, deprecate, condemn, censure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To carping
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
carp
"complain," c.1240, from O.N. karpa "to brag," of unknown origin; meaning turned toward "find fault," probably by infl. of L. carpere "to slander, revile," lit. "to pluck" (see harvest).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
But there is a prudish stiffness and a carping undertone that smacks of settling accounts.
Seemingly half their intended audience went into automatic backlash mode, carping about authenticity.
But that is carping over what is essentially a trifling matter.
Critics from both sides are already carping about this.
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