Other forms: carps
A carp is a big freshwater fish kept in ponds, and to carp is to complain pettily. A common carp, catch a carp, carp about the details.
The fish is long-lived and much prized in Japan as koi, where a good one sells for a great deal, and it is a serious pest in Australian and American rivers. The verb is unrelated in origin and means to nag about small things.
1nouncarpA big freshwater fish kept in ponds.
“A large golden carp swam slowly around the garden pond.”
2verbcomplainTo complain about small things.
“Instead of helping, he just sat there carping about the food.”
carp is a fish, or a complaining.
The fish comes through Old French carpe from Latin carpa. The verb to carp is from Old Norse karpa, to boast.
Proto-West Germanic
*karpo
Latin
carpa
Old French
carpe
Middle English
carpe — the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
English, today
carp
From Late Middle English carpe (“the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)”), from Old French carpe, from Latin carpa, possibly from Proto-West Germanic karpo (possibly due to the introduction from the fish from the Danube into England in the 14th century; whence Middle Low German karpe and Old High German charpho, karpho); further etymology unknown.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA