# carapace

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæ.ɹəˌpeɪs/ · frequency rank #45,254

## Definitions
1. A hard protective covering of bone or chitin, especially one which covers the dorsal portion of an animal.
2. That which protects.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French carapace (“tortoise shell”), from Spanish carapacho, of unknown origin, but likely from an extinct Ibero-Mediterranean substrate language.
Compare Catalan carabassa, Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos, “beetle”), Latin scarabaeus (the source of scarab); also Spanish galápago (“kind of turtle”). Doublet of calipash.

## Common misspellings (11)
`acrapace`, `caarpace`, `caraapce`, `carapacce`, `carapaec`, `carapcae`, `carappace`, `carpaace`, `carrapace`, `ccarapace`, `craapace`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/carapace