# carol

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæɹəl/ · frequency rank #6,879

## Definitions
1. A round dance accompanied by singing.
2. A ballad or song of joy.
3. A ballad or song of joy.
4. A small closet or enclosure built against the inner side of a window of a monastery's cloister, to sit in for study.

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English carole (“round dance with singing; group of people dancing and singing in a circle; song by carollers, carol; religious poem or song; circular thing; braid, chain (?); stall for study or writing; writing table”), from Old French carole (“round dance with singing”). The further etymology is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested:
* From Old Italian carola, or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin choraula, a variant of choraulēs (“flute player accompanying a chorus dance”), from Ancient Greek χοραυλής (khoraulḗs, “one who accompanies a chorus on the flute”), from χορός (khorós, “choir; dance”) + αὐλός (aulós, “flute”).
* From Latin corōlla (“little crown, coronet; small chaplet, garland, or wreath”), from corōna (“chaplet, garland, wreath”) + -la (diminutive suffix). Corōna is borrowed from Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē, “type of crown; curved object (door handle, tip of a bow, stern of a ship, etc.)”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”).
Compare chorus, terpsichorean.
Noun noun sense 3 (“small closet or enclosure”) may refer to the fact that the item encloses or surrounds the person using it.
The verb is derived from Middle English carolen (“to dance and/or sing in a round dance; to sing for (dancers in a round dance); (figurative) to spend time noisily or unprofitably”), from Old French caroler (“to sing”), from carole (noun) (see above) + -er (a variant of -ier (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs)).

## Easily confused with
- **col** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-col)
- **CRO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cro)
- **cool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cool)
- **cars** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cars)
- **crop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-crop)
- **cart** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cart)
- **crow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-crow)
- **carr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carr)
- **curl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-curl)
- **Cary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cary)
- **Ctrl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-ctrl)
- **carp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carp)
- **Cato** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cato)
- **croc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-croc)
- **carry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carry)
- **coral** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-coral)
- **carts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carts)
- **Cyril** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-cyril)
- **carve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carve)
- **carte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carol-vs-carte)

## Common misspellings (6)
`acrol`, `caorl`, `caroll`, `carrol`, `ccarol`, `craol`

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