carrion

[ kar-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. dead and putrefying flesh.
2. rottenness; anything vile.

adjective

1. feeding on carrion.

carrion

/ ˈkærɪən /

noun

1. dead and rotting flesh
2. modifier eating carrion

   carrion beetles

3. something rotten or repulsive

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrion¹

1175–1225; Middle English caroyne, careyn, carion < Anglo-French careine, Old French charo ( i ) gne < Vulgar Latin *caronia, equivalent to Latin carun- ( caruncle ) + -ia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrion¹

C13: from Anglo-French caroine, ultimately from Latin carō flesh

Example Sentences

Vultures thus fulfil an important ecological role by cleaning landscapes of carrion and containing the spread of wildlife diseases.

From Science Daily

Jiří Hřebíček created an artistic image of a carrion crow by using a long shutter speed while moving his camera on purpose.

From BBC

Also, the flower gets pollinated by the insects attracted to its rotten smell, “typically sweat bees, flesh flies and carrion beetles who enjoy the pungent odor,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Margalida referred to vultures as "the most efficient species at locating and disposing of carrion."

From Salon

They are opportunistic eaters of just about anything, but their consumption of carrion — their comfort with the dead — made them a bad omen long before Edgar Allan Poe turned them into a cliché.

From New York Times