Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Carpet
Car′pet
(kär′pĕt)
, Noun.
[OF.
carpite
rug, soft of cloth, F. carpette
coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita
rug, blanket), LL. carpeta
, carpita
, woolly cloths, fr. L. carpere
to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. καρπόσ
fruit, E. Harvest
.] 1.
A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor, as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a wrought cover for tables.
Tables and beds covered with copes instead of
carpets
and coverlets. T. Fuller.
2.
A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet.
“The grassy carpet of this plain.” Shak.
Carpet beetle
or
Carpet bug
(Zool.)
, a small beetle (
– Anthrenus scrophulariæ
), which, in the larval state, does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; – also called buffalo bug
. Carpet knight
. (a)
A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of the drawing room; an effeminate person.
Shak.
(b)
One made a knight, for some other than military distinction or service.
– Carpet moth
(Zool.)
, the larva of an insect which feeds on carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds. Some are the larvæ of species of
– Tinea
(as Tinea tapetzella
); others of beetles, esp. Anthrenus
. Carpet snake
(Zool.)
, an Australian snake. See
– Diamond snake
, under Diamond
. Carpet sweeper
, an apparatus or device for sweeping carpets.
– To be on the carpet
, to be under consideration; to be the subject of deliberation; to be in sight; – an expression derived from the use of carpets as table cover.
– Brussels carpet
. See under
Brussels
.Car′pet
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Carpeted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Carpeting
.] To cover with, or as with, a carpet; to spread with carpets; to furnish with a carpet or carpets.
Carpeted
temples in fashionable squares. E. Everett.
Webster 1828 Edition
Carpet
CARPET
,Noun.
1.
A covering for floors, tables, stairs, &c. This covering is usually made of wool, wrought with a needle, or more generally in a loom, but is sometimes made of other materials. The manufacture is of Asiatic origin, but has been introduced into many parts of Europe, and into the United States.2.
Level ground covered, as with grass; as a grassy carpet; a carpet of green grass.To be on the carpet, is to be under consideration; to be the subject of deliberation. The French phrase, to be on the tapis, is used in the like sense.
Carpet-knight, in Shakspeare, is a knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and has not known the hardships of the field.
Carpet-monger is used in a like sense.
CARPET
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
carpet
carpet
English
Noun
carpet (plural carpets) (uncountable and countable)
- A fabric used as a complete floor covering.
- 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
- A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess:
- The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now faded, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise.
- 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
- (figuratively) Any surface or cover resembling a carpet or fulfilling its function.
- William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
- the grassy carpet of this plain
- William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
- (obsolete) A wrought cover for tables.
- Thomas Fuller (1606-1661)
- Tables and beds covered with copes instead of carpets and coverlets.
- Thomas Fuller (1606-1661)
- (slang, vulgar) A woman's pubic hair.
Usage notes
The terms carpet and rug are often used interchangeably, but various distinctions are drawn. Most often, a rug is loose and covers part of a floor, while a carpet covers most or all of the floor (hence typically square), and may be loose or attached, while a fitted carpet runs wall-to-wall. Another distinction is quality: a rug may be coarser, while a carpet is higher quality and has finished ends.
Initially carpet referred primarily to table and wall coverings, today called tablecloth or tapestry – the use of the term for floor coverings dates to the 18th century, following trade with Persia.
Derived terms
Terms derived from carpet
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Translations
a fabric used as a floor covering
|
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any surface or cover resembling a carpet or fulfulling its function
External links
Verb
carpet (third-person singular simple present carpets, present participle carpeting, simple past and past participle carpeted)
- To lay carpet, or to have carpet installed, in an area.
- After the fire, they carpeted over the blackened hardwood flooring.
- The builders were carpeting in the living room when Zadie inspected her new house.
- (transitive) To substantially cover something, as a carpet does; to blanket something.
- Popcorn and candy wrappers carpeted the floor of the cinema.
- (Britain) To reprimand.
- 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 428:
- Even Colonel Yakov, so recently carpeted by St Petersburg, was reported to be back in the Pamirs.
- 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 428:
Translations
to lay carpet
to cover like a carpet