Origin of the word "Carnival"

The origin of the name "Carnival" is disputed.

According to one theory, it comes from the Latin "carrus navalis" ("ship cart"), referring to a cart in a religious parade, such as a cart in a religious procession at the annual festivities in honor of the god Apollo. Other sources, however, suggest that the name comes from the Italian "carne levare" or similar, meaning "to remove meat", since meat is prohibited during Lent. Another theory states that the word comes from the Late Latin expression "carne vale", which means "farewell to meat", signifying that those were the last days when one could eat meat before the fasting of Lent.