carp

noun

1. Any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae.

   “The Carp is a ſtately, a good, and a ſubtle fiſh, a fiſh that hath not (as it is ſaid) been long in England, but ſaid to be by one Mr. Maſcall (a Gentleman then living at Plumſted in Suſſex) brought into this Nation: […] Carps and Loches are obſerved to breed ſeveral months in one year, vvhich moſt other fiſh do not, and it is the rather believed, becauſe you ſhall ſcarce or never take a Male Carp vvithout a Melt, or a Female vvithout a Roe or Spavvn; […]”

   “Like scaly carp and feathered swan To nature's world we do belong.”

   “Illinois took the initiative in renaming the Asian carp given the state’s position as a sort of “last stand” against the carp entering the Great Lakes.”

   “Matsumoto Castle exhibits the architecture of both war and peace, from its steep wooden stairs, hidden inner levels and archer’s perches to the moon-viewing room added in 1630, which also offers a vantage point for viewing the brocaded carps and ducks residing in the castle moat.”

2. (often, specifically)Any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae.
3. An instance of, or speech, complaining or criticizing about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons; a cavil.

verb

1. (intransitive)To criticize or complain about a fault, especially for frivolous or petty reasons; to cavil.

   “Here agayne Seruetto carpeth, yͭ God did beare the perſon of an Angel. As thoughe the Prophete did not confirme that whiche Moſes had ſaied: why doeſt thou aſke me of my name?”

   “Enuie vvhy carpeſt thou my time is ſpent ſo ill, / And termſt my vvorkes fruites of an idle quill.”

   “[W]ith your good countenance protect against the malice of euill mouthes, vvhich are alvvaies vvide open to carpe at and miſconstrue my ſimple meaning.”

   “[I]f vve ſhould never cenſure vvithout great Reaſon or neceſſity, hovv ſeldom ſhould vve do it? […] [D]o vve not eagerly ſearch after, and greedily embrace all occaſions to do it? Is it not a pleaſant entertainment to us, to be carping and cavelling at any Body vve meet, at any thing vve ſee done?”

   “My vvorthy friend, ne'er grudge an' carp, / Tho' Fortune uſe you hard an' ſharp; / Come, kittle up your moorland harp / VVi' gleeſome touch!”

2. (intransitive, obsolete)To speak, to talk; also, to talk about a subject in speech or writing.
3. (intransitive, obsolete)To talk much but to little purpose; to chatter, to prattle.

   “And some of them barke, / Clatter and carpe / Of that heresy arte / Called Wicleuista, / The deuelysshe dogmatista; […]”

   “And therwithall came curiouſneſſe and carped out of frame. / The audience laught to heare the ſtrife as they beheld the ſame.”

   “Psha! thou carpest and carpest, and yet tell'st nought; in a word, What say'st thou to him?”

4. (intransitive, obsolete)Of a bird: to sing; of a person (such as a minstrel): to sing or recite.

   “Hys hart is to hy to haue any hap; / But for in his gamut carp that he can, / Lo, Jak wold be a jentylman!”

   “Then aye he harped, and aye he carped, / Till a' the Lordlings footed the floor; / But an' the music was sae sweet, / The groom had nae mind o' the stable door.”

5. (obsolete, transitive)To say or tell (something).
6. (obsolete, transitive)To find fault with (someone or something); to censure, to criticize.

   “Albeit I doe knovve they [the speeches] vvill lie open to the cenſure of the youth of our time, vvho for the moſt part, are ſo over-gulled vvith ſelf-liking, that they are more then giddy in admiring themſelves, and carping vvhatſoever hath beene done or ſaide heeretofore, Nevertheleſſe I hope that all are not of one humour, and doubt not, but that there is diverſitie of taſtes, as vvas among Horaces gueſts; […]”

   “[W]hen I ſpoke, / My honeſt homely vvords vvere carp'd, and cenſur'd, / For vvant of Courtly ſtile: […]”

name

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, a Unificationist organization.
2. A surname.